Ever since the Islanders came into the NHL in 1972, there has always been that competition between the two clubs, largely based on the fact that they play in the same general area in New York. It goes along with some of the other great rivalry's that have taken place in New York, like Knicks-Nets and the old Dodgers–Giants rivalry. Over the course of the last 42 years, including the two times they have already played this season, the two teams have squared off 290 times, with the Rangers holding a record of 122–109–19. Going further, they have played eight more times in the Playoffs, with the Islanders winning five of those series and having a record advantage of 20–19 in those games.
Some might have wondered if the rivalry has lost some steam between these two clubs. The battle for New York City area bragging rights had lost a lot of its luster over the last two decades, mostly because the Islanders as a franchise had struggled, making just five postseason appearances since they were swept by the Rangers in the first round of the 1993-94 playoffs. Now the luster and spark has returned.
Both teams are playing very well for themselves as of late. The Rangers, including the loss to the Islanders on Tuesday night, have won 13 of their last 15 games, and are sitting in the 1st wild card spot if the playoffs were to start tomorrow. The Isles have won three straight games , going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and sit atop the Metro Division right now. Both teams have their star players playing well at the moment too. John Tavares has had 12 points in his last 11 games, and after a slow start, Henrik Lundqvist is now sitting at 20-9-3 on the year.
Why is there spark back into things? Well the most obvious is that both New York Clubs are playing outstanding hockey. New York hasn't seen its two metro area teams play this well at this point of the season since 1984, and we haven't even hit the all star break yet. Now don't get me wrong, the rivalry has always been in place. During the late 90's and early 2000's, there was a difference between the teams. It was either the Rangers were a good team and the Islanders stunk, or the Islanders were decent and the Rangers not so much. Now this year, it appears that we have two very talented hockey clubs that could be in the playoffs at the same time.
This rivalry will always be around, as long as both teams stay put here in the New York Metro area, there's no doubt about it. Now that the two teams are playing pretty well, and at the same time, it makes the games just that much more fun to watch.
If anybody saw the game Tuesday night, most will agree that it was one of the more entertaining games in the history of the rivalry. So that got me to thinking.....what are the best games ever played between the two clubs? With 290 total meetings between the teams, its kind of hard to pick, but I figured I would give it a shot. So here are the five most entertaining games between the two teams in the history of the rivalry.
Honorable Mention:
October 21, 1972: Rangers 2, Islanders 1
-The first regular season game between the two teams. The Rangers left Nassau Coliseum with a win, and wound up winning all six contests against the Islanders in that inaugural season. It wasn't very pretty for the Isles that first season, showing they still had a long way to go before even becoming a serious threat to the boys from Broadway.
5. February 25, 1979: Rangers 3, Islanders 2
-That season, the Islanders went on to have the best record in the league, and yes the Rangers pulled off the upset of the Isles in the playoffs. But this game went a long way in turning up the flames on this rivalry. The score doesn’t really matter, even though the Rangers handed the Isles their 11th loss of the year. What people remember, particularly Ranger fans, is Denis Potvin hitting Ulf Nilsson, causing the horrible injury to Nilsson's leg, thus ending his season. The MSG faithful still haven’t quite gotten over it.
4. March 5, 1994: Rangers 5, Islanders 4
-Sure Darius Kasparaitis had a pair of helpers and Ray Ferraro had a goal and assist for the Isles. Adam Graves had two goals and a helper. But it was Sergei Zubov netted the winning tally late in the third period to give the Rangers the heart stopping win. This Rangers victory was the first win on Long Island since Oct. 28, 1989. It was a inkling of snapping streaks for the Rangers that year, who went on to win the Stanley Cup later that spring.
3. October 15, 2011: Islanders 4, Rangers 2
John Tavares, to date, has potted five careers hat tricks. On this night, it was his first hat trick in an Isles/Rangers tilt. He did it in front of the home crowd, too. Even though Gaborik scored twice for the Isles, it was the Hatty from Tavares that helped pull out the victory for the Islanders.
2. April 10, 1984: Islanders 3, Rangers 2 (OT)
-This was a great season for both teams, a year in which they had great numbers and both were expected to contend. The Rangers pushed this series, and this game for that matter, to the brink. Don Maloney tied the game up late, forcing it to go to overtime. During the playoffs, that was where the Isles excelled during their glory years. Kenny Morrow scored the goal early in overtime, allowing the Islanders to advance and keep their “Drive for Five” going.
1. April 11, 1975: Islanders 4, Rangers 3 (OT)
-This was an Islander team that had been in the NHL for just three years. They were playing in a playoff series for the first time ever, and it just so happened to be against the well established Rangers. Nobody gave the Islanders a chance, but they went in and won the opener of the series. They series was evened at two before going to MSG for the final game. J.P. Parise stunned the Rangers in overtime, sending the Islanders to their first playoff series victory and silencing the crowd at MSG. The goal arguably put the previously “hapless” Isles on the map and the rest of the NHL on notice that they’d arrived.
With what is still to come this season from both clubs, we could be possibly updating this top five list by the time this season comes to an end.
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