Battle of Quebec The Battle of Quebec is the nickname for a former National Hockey League ( NHL ) rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques . The rivalry lasted from the 1979 – 80 to 1994 – 95 seasons . The teams played against each other five times in the NHL playoffs , and the Canadiens won three of the series . One meeting , in 1984 , resulted in the Good Friday Massacre , a game in which multiple brawls happened . The Battle of Quebec extended to politics , in which the Canadiens and Nordiques became symbols for rival parties , and beer distribution , as the teams were both owned by competing breweries . Background . The Canadiens – Nordiques rivalry began in the 1979 – 80 season , when the Nordiques became one of four former World Hockey Association teams to join the NHL as part of the leagues ' merger . The Canadiens originally were one of five teams to vote down the merger . However , the Canadiens ' owner , Molson Brewery , feared that Canadian cities with WHA teams in the deal would boycott the brand , and the team supported the merger in a subsequent vote . At first the teams were placed in different divisions ; Montreal was in the Norris Division , while Quebec was given a spot in the Adams Division . 1979 – 80 to 1981 – 82 . The teams played their first game against each other in Montreal on October 13 , 1979 , and the Canadiens won 3 – 1 . The Nordiques hosted the rivalry for the first time on October 29 , and upset the Canadiens 5 – 4 ; the " Ottawa Citizen " wrote that " The victory marked the end of a decades - old Quebec belief that Montreal was unbeatable . " The rivalry was fairly even in its first few years ; from the 1979 – 80 to 1981 – 82 regular seasons , the Canadiens were 6 – 5 – 5 in the series , and had just one win away from the Montreal Forum . The NHL realigned before the 1981 – 82 season , and the Canadiens were placed in the Adams Division with the Nordiques . In the 1982 playoffs , the teams met in the postseason for the first time . After a Game 1 loss , the Nordiques won the next two games , putting them in position to win the best - of - five series . Montreal won the fourth game 6 – 2 ; the contest featured a combined 251 penalty minutes , including 159 from one first - period altercation . The Montreal Forum was the site of Game 5 , where the Canadiens scored twice in the third period to force a 2 – 2 tie and a series - deciding overtime period . The game , and series , came to a quick end 22 seconds into the extra period when Quebec ' s Dale Hunter scored on an odd - man rush to give the Nordiques the victory . 1984 playoffs : Good Friday Massacre . Two years later , the teams met again in the playoffs ; by this time the rivalry had been given the Battle of Quebec nickname . The teams split the first four games of the best - of - seven series before Montreal won Game 5 in Quebec City , 4 – 0 . Game 6 took place in Montreal on April 20 , 1984 . The Canadiens rallied from a two - goal deficit in the third period to win 5 – 3 and clinch the series , but the game is best known for having multiple brawls in the last two periods . The fighting started as the second period was ending , after an incident between the Nordiques ' Hunter and the Canadiens ' Guy Carbonneau , who was " pinned to the ice " by Hunter . More than 10 minutes of brawling followed , and the teams were given 222 penalty minutes for the second period . Ten players were thrown out of the game between both brawls , but several were not immediately told of their ejections after the first one , as the officials had not finished recording all of the penalties during the intermission . A 10 - minute - long bench - clearing brawl occurred after the announcement of the ejections , and the total number of penalty minutes in the game exceeded 250 . 1984 – 85 to 1986 – 87 . In eight games between the teams during the 1984 – 85 season , the Canadiens lost only once , posting six victories . The 1985 playoffs saw the Canadiens and Nordiques face each other in the postseason for the third time in four years . The Nordiques won the first and third games in overtime and jumped out to a 3 – 2 lead after winning Game 5 in Montreal , 5 – 1 . The Canadiens responded with a 5 – 2 win in Quebec City in the sixth game , sending the series to a decisive Game 7 back in Montreal . After regulation play ended with the score tied 2 – 2 , the game entered overtime . Peter Stastny scored for the Nordiques at 2 : 22 of the extra period , giving the Nordiques the game and the series . The teams did not play in the 1986 playoffs , as the Nordiques lost to the Hartford Whalers in the first round , while the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup . In 1987 , however , Montreal and Quebec had their fourth playoff matchup . The Nordiques won the first two games in the Montreal Forum , before the Canadiens evened the series with a pair of wins in Quebec City . Game 4 was decided in overtime , and featured a pregame fight . Montreal won Game 5 at home , though not without controversy . With the score tied 2 – 2 late in the third period , Alain Côté scored what appeared to be the go - ahead goal for the Nordiques , only to see it waved off due to offsetting penalties on both teams . Ryan Walter netted the game - winner for the Canadiens 14 seconds later . Quebec coach Michel Bergeron called his team ' s loss " a crime " , saying " No one wants to let us win . " One attorney in Quebec City offered to help the Nordiques challenge the final result of the game , which the team decided against . The Nordiques won Game 6 at home , but the Canadiens won the deciding seventh game 5 – 3 , scoring all of their goals in the second period . 1993 playoffs and Nordiques ' relocation . In the 1993 playoffs , the Canadiens and Nordiques met in the opening round . The Nordiques took a 2 – 0 lead in the series , but Montreal won four straight games after that to capture the series . Three of the six games went to overtime ; the Canadiens won two of those , including Game 5 in Quebec City , which game them the lead in the series before a clinching 6 – 2 victory in Game 6 . The rivalry came to an end following the 1994 – 95 season , when the Nordiques relocated to Denver , Colorado , and became the Colorado Avalanche . However , the rivalry never died . In 2002 , the Avalanche held an exhibition game against the Canadiens in Quebec City . When Joe Sakic , a former Nordique , entered the arena with the Nordique blue , the fans gave him a thundering ovation . He said that " you ' re not going to find a better hockey city . It was really moving . There are no words . " In 2010 , " La série Montréal - Québec " , a TVA television series featuring games between amateur teams from the two cities , premiered . Causes . Both of the teams in the rivalry were based in the province of Quebec . Montreal is the province ' s largest city , while Quebec City is its capital . One Nordiques employee said of the disparity between the size of the two cities , " Quebec City has always had a relationship of frustration with Montreal . This rivalry is the first time that Montreal and Quebec City can compete head to head in one event . " According to the Canadian Press , the Battle of Quebec also matched teams with opposite backgrounds . The Canadiens were a traditionally strong team , while the Nordiques were relatively new to the NHL during their playoff series in the mid - 1980s . Stastny said of the rivalry , " It ' s like two camps , each representing something , you ' re not just playing for your team , you ' re playing for your half - a - million supporters and they ' re playing for their one or two million supporters . " The teams took on political symbolism during the rivalry . The Canadiens were seen by some as reflective of those in favor of keeping the province as part of Canada , while the Nordiques were seen as a symbol of Quebec independence . One early - 1980s survey by the " La Presse " newspaper found that , outside of east Montreal , support for the Canadiens and Nordiques tended to mirror where support existed for the Quebec Liberal Party and Parti Québécois , respectively . A concurrent rivalry took place between the teams ' owners , which were both breweries . Molson had purchased ownership of the Canadiens before the NHL – WHA merger , and the Nordiques were controlled by Carling O ' Keefe . In May 1982 , following the Canadiens ' elimination from the NHL playoffs at the hands of the Nordiques the previous month , a 9 . 5 percent decline in Quebec ' s beer consumption was recorded . Montreal reporter Red Fisher credited Molson and Carling O ' Keefe for expanding the rivalry , saying , " The breweries have carried the red flags in this . "