Just Like Old Times

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http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0807/nhl.islanders.follies/images/01.stanley-cup.jpgThere is nothing quite like rivalries in the world of sports as they ignite fan bases while bringing out the best in teams. The New York Islanders came into existence as a National Hockey League franchise in 1972 and in the process they infringed on the domain of the New York Rangers. Since their inception the Islanders have called the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York home as the play in the shadows of New York City. The Rangers call Madison Square Garden in New York City home and about 28 miles separates these two venues. It didn’t take the Islanders that long to put their stamp on this rivalry as they secured their first playoff series victory in franchise history by defeating the Rangers in 1975. From 1975-1984, the Islanders and the Rangers would meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs six times with the guys from Long Island getting the best of the Blueshirts on five occasions. The Islanders would ride this wave of momentum to four consecutive Stanley Cup Titles in the early 1980’s. Overall the Islanders and Rangers have met in the postseason eight times with the Isles winning five of those encounters. The last time that the Rangers and Islanders met in the postseason was 1994 in the first round of the playoffs. And it was the Rangers that would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year.

http://www.bleepingidiots.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Messier.jpgThis season the Islanders and Rangers are two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Isles and Rangers are first and second in the Metropolitan Division respectively and they have engaged in some battles this season. The Islanders won the first three games against the Rangers this season by a combined score of 13-4. On January 27 when the Isles beat the Rangers 4-1 at the Nassau Coliseum, chants went up from the crowd of “you can’t beat us” and “Henrik, Henrik” to mock Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/100/files/2015/02/dominic-moore-tanner-glass-ryan-mcdonagh-jaroslav-halak-nhl-new-york-rangers-new-york-islanders-850x560.jpgThese two rivals met last night once more at the Coliseum and it appeared to be more of the same as the Isles jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. It was almost 3-0 in favor of the Islanders, but the Rangers would quickly shift the momentum when defenseman Ryan McDonagh scored to cut the Isles lead to a point. This would be a seesaw affair until early in the third period when Islanders center Ryan Strome would score to give them a 5-3 advantage which brought on the “you can’t beat us” chants once again from the crowd at the Nassau Coliseum. But playing without their star goalie Lundqvist, the Rangers offense picked up backup goalie Cam Talbot as center Derek Stepan, right winger Martin St. Louis, and defenseman Kevin Klein each scored in the third period to give the Rangers the 6-5 lead. The Islander faithful may have quieted down, but for the Ranger fans in attendance there could now flex their muscles.

The Rangers would escape Uniondale with the 6-5 win and this game brought back memories of the days when these two teams consistently met in the playoffs and it is something that we could see this spring.

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Nassau Coliseum

With this being the final season for the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum as they are set to move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this fall, there has been a sense of nostalgia for their Long Island fan base this season. Those Islander fans on Long Island will still be able to see their favorite hockey team: they will just have to travel a little bit further to do it. But with Islanders finally fielding a team this season that can actually contend for the first time in over 20 years, the fans on Long Island have come out to support them. The past two decades have seen the Ranger fans dominate the seats at the Nassau Coliseum when these two teams meet, but it hasn’t been the case this year with Islander fans strongly showing their support and even finding their way to the Garden in Manhattan as well. And with the intensity of this rivalry it would only be fitting to see these two teams meet one more time in the NHL Playoffs before the Isles move from Nassau County to Kings County.

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Ron Duguay

Both the Islanders and Rangers have good teams this season. The Rangers are looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive season while the Islanders are trying to push away two decades of frustration. The games this season have allowed fans on both sides of the rivalry to reminisce of the days when goalie Billy Smith was in the net for the Isles trying to stop the charge of Ron Duguay and Phil Esposito of the Rangers. Even to the current teams there is no love lost between the Rangers and Islanders which spills over to their fans as well which also makes for must-see TV. The NHL like any other sports league is all about the money and what better way to captivate the New York media market than to have the Rangers and Islanders meet this spring in the postseason. There still needs to be a ton of work done by both sides before it could be done, but the thought alone gets the blood flowing.

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By | 2015-02-17T20:58:52+00:00 February 17th, 2015|Categories: National Hockey League|Tags: , , |0 Comments

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