The vilification of fans is a hallmark of intense rivalries, whether its booing injuries or nasty chants or fights in the stands or other malarkey.

Montreal Canadiens fans were called out for a lack of “class” – ugh, the overuse of that word in professional sports – for throwing garbage at the Boston Bruins as they left they ice in Game 6. Then this picture started getting play on Reddit then here and here: Zdeno Chara, apparently hung. And this time in effigy!

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Now, we’ve seen our share of bad noose in this Habs/Bruins series, so any hanging is going to be considered controversial. As Masshole Sports’ subtle headline noted: “A Bar In Montreal Has A Dead Zdeno Chara Doll Hung From The Ceiling. Classy My Ass.”

As much as we’re not a fan of deplorable fan behavior, we’re also not fans of inaccurately tarnishing the reputation of a fan base. So we simply ask:

How do we know this is a Montreal bar?

Oh, right, Reddit told us. Although the Redditor that uploaded the photo later indicated they have no idea where it originated other than Twitter. French language sports blog 25 Stanley also couldn’t identify which “Montreal bar” committed this heinous act.

Then there’s the photo itself:

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1. That seems like a rather arbitrary number on the Jumbotron, like maybe it’s the month and date or something. If so, the Bruins played the Rangers on May 23 last season and the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 23, 2011.

UPDATE: Reader Jeff does some sleuthing.

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Story continues