NEWARK -- Let’s be honest, proximity of teams helps foster a rivalry, but only when two teams play one another in important games, like the playoffs, does a rivalry truly become something more than casual bragging rights.
So, consider Thursday’s contest between the Devils and Rangers part of the rebirth of what used to be one of the most heated and intense rivalries in the National Hockey League.
“I think it’s great when both us and the Rangers are good, it’s exciting for this area because it’s a really good rivalry for the fans and for the players,” Devils goalie Cory Schneider said Thursday morning.
“I know the last few years we haven’t quite been at the same level as the Rangers, but we’ve played them hard, beaten them a few times. Now that we’re right there with them (this season), it makes it more fun, more exciting.”
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Not since 2011-12 when the Devils eliminated the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final have both teams been contenders. While the Rangers held up their end of the bargain, making the playoffs each year, the Devils failed to reach the postseason since their 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
In fact, this is a decidedly one-way battle for local supremacy. Since falling to the Devils in 2012, the Rangers returned to make two more appearances in the conference final, won a President’s Trophy and played in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
The Devils never cracked 90 points the past five seasons, and last year bottomed out, literally and figuratively, finishing dead last in the East with 70 points.
“Last year is in the past, but it’s not like we don’t remember,” said Taylor Hall, New Jersey’s top scorer this season with 31 points. “It was embarrassing.”
This season, the Devils have only nine regulation losses in 33 games, third fewest in the league. Currently in second place with 43 points, the surprising Devils remained at the top of the Metropolitan Division standings – or near it – all season.
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The Rangers, just two points in back of the Devils and in the middle of an impressive 16-5-1 run themselves since Halloween, noticed how well their rivals played, so far.
“They’ve been up as one of the top two teams in our division – which is probably considered the best in the NHL – and rightfully so, they’ve been playing some real good hockey,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.
“Both times we played against them (a win and a loss at Madison Square Garden) they were real good. Tons of speed, very high skill level, and a goaltender (Schneider) that’s playing extremely well.”
That is the same recipe the Rangers found success with for five seasons under Vigneault, who replaced John Tortorella – the Blueshirts coach the last time these teams met in the postseason – before the 2013-14 campaign.
Speed. Skill. Goaltending.
And it’s working in New Jersey just as it has on Broadway, helping stoke the fires of this simmering rivalry.
“It turns it up a couple degrees, that’s for sure,” Devils defenseman John Moore –a former Ranger – told Sporting News. “Both teams are neck and neck in the standings and it makes it a lot more interesting. We as players are fired up to play the Rangers.”
There is still much for the Devils to prove in order to stay afloat in the ultra-competitive Metro, and reignite their rivalry with the Rangers.
Start by winning games within the division, not only against the Rangers, but against the two-time defending Cup champion Penguins, the 100-point Blue Jackets, another local rival in the Islanders and a Capitals team that sits in first place after winning consecutive President’s Trophies.
“A lot of the best teams in the league are in our division, so if you want to be there at the end of the year, be a playoff team, you have to be able to compete with these teams and beat them,” Schneider said of a Devils team that is only 2-3-0 within the Metropolitan Division.
Added Devils coach John Hynes, “It’s something we’ve talked about. We’ve got 23 games left within our division and I think the way I see things shaking out it’s important to win these games because we recognize we haven’t played our best hockey against these teams.”
The Rangers are more battle-tested in these rough divisional match-ups over the years. In fact, Lundqvist has more wins (36) and shutouts (8) against the Devils than against any other team in his career, though he expects a stiff test Thursday.
“You just have to look at their record this year to realize they are a good team, they’re playing well” stated Lundqvist. “We have to go in there and really play our best game.”
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No matter the outcome Thursday, it will still take some time to restore this rivalry to the days of Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! or Adam Henrique’s 2012 series clincher in overtime, but you can see that it most definitely is on the horizon.
“It’s exciting, with the proximity of the teams, when they are (both) competitive,” concluded Hynes.
“We’re glad we’re in it. It’s fun to be part of. Hopefully it continues that way.”