This past Sunday evening in Chicago the New York Rangers defeated the Blackhawks 1-0 in what many said felt like an intense playoff atmosphere. Let me tell you something, that was nothing. Nothing compared to what will surely be on display on Long Island Tuesday night when the Rangers battle the Islanders for the final time ever in the regular season at the Nassau Coliseum. Make no mistake, these teams and their fans don’t like each other. The old barn will be packed and ready to explode, especially with what’s at stake in the standings.
Rangers and Islanders Ready for Final Showdown at Nassau Coliseum
Heading into Tuesday’s action, the Rangers (40-17-7) with 87 points sit three behind their division rivals, but have four games in hand on the Islanders (43-21-4), who have thus far attained 90 points, after dispatching with the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime last night. A Rangers win makes it all the more likely that it will only be a matter of time before they overtake first place in the Metropolitan Division, and assert themselves as a contender for the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s best regular season team. An Islander win on the other hand, though not disastrous for the Rangers, would make things much more difficult. The Islanders would be heading into the stretch run with a five point division lead and a mostly favorable schedule. Not to mention the confidence of having taken four of five games from the Rangers in the regular season series.
The Rangers come into the game hot, having gone 11-2-3 since all-world goaltender Henrik Lundqvist went down with a vascular injury after taking a shot directly to his neck. He is expected to be out another two weeks, but is skating and taking low shots at practice in an attempt to stay in game shape. What the Rangers have done without him in the lineup is nothing short of spectacular however.
When it was announced that he would be missing significant time, many in the hockey world thought the Rangers would struggle, and that they would be well-suited if they could play .500 hockey without him. To put that into perspective, if the Rangers had played at .500 without Lundqvist, they would now be 11 points behind the Islanders, and only six points ahead of the Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East. Instead, they continue to challenge as a top-tier team and currently have the second best win percentage in the league at .680, behind only the Montreal Canadiens at .682.
The Islanders of late have been playing up and down hockey, having gone 5-2-3 in their last 10 tilts. They continue to win the games they should, but have shown a propensity to blow leads in the third period. They can score though, and they score often with 218 goals on the season, good for second best in the league. They have also been quick to jump out to early leads, forcing teams to play from behind. In three of the four games played against the Rangers this season the Islanders have scored first.
Standings and stats aside though, this game is going to special. The Rangers have already announced that they will re-insert Tanner Glass into the lineup, anticipating a physical game that will probably see a scrap or two. Fans from both teams will fill the old barn one last time alternating chants of “Let’s go Rangers!” “Let’s go Islanders!” “Potvin sucks!” “Rangers suck!” and “We want fish sticks!” There may also be a scrap or two amongst them. The Coliseum will be loud if nothing else. The kind of loud that can make it hard to think and keep focused. First team to flinch loses. One can only imagine what the atmosphere will be like there should these two teams meet again in the playoffs. I’ve heard some fans throwing the word Armageddon around. I wouldn’t put it past them.
The Rangers’ and Islanders’ rivalry is a unique one, with the two teams being separated by only about 25 miles. It began in 1972 with the Islanders making their debut in the NHL and quickly escalated and came to a head in 1979 when the two played for the conference championship, with the Rangers coming out on top in six games. The Islanders would have their revenge though, going on to win the Stanley Cup in four straight years from 1980 to 1983. The teams’ and fans’ hatred of each other continued to build throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. The Rangers again beat the Islanders in 1994 in the first round of the playoffs en route to winning the Stanley Cup, their first since 1940 and a fact Islanders fans were always quick to point out to their Rangers counterparts.
The Islanders have struggled as a franchise for the past two decades but that has not put a damper on the rivalry, as no matter how far apart the teams have been in the standings, each game against each other brings an intensity that cannot be matched by any other regular season game, both on the ice and in the stands. It is fitting, and fun, that these two teams are once again sitting atop the standings together in this, the last season the Islanders will play at the Coliseum, before moving even closer to the Rangers geographically, to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center next year.
Rangers defenseman Marc Staal had this to say on the rivalry at Monday’s practice: It’s, “one of the first things that was talked about when I got here, and since I’ve been here it hasn’t let up or been disappointing. They’re always hard-fought games and it didn’t matter what place you were in the standings, what position you were in, what time of year. It’s always a bigger game when you play them.” He went on to say about this year’s Islanders team, “They’re a great hockey team and it makes for a lot more on the line. It makes the games more intense and mean a lot more. You can feel that on the ice and in the atmosphere in the building.”
Let’s get ready to rumble. Get your popcorn ready. Whatever cliché you want to use. This game is going to be fun, and should be one to remember.
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