Two-plus years without a fistfight is great for Little League, or an airport, or some national parliaments, but it's not what you're looking for in a pro hockey rivalry.
Two-plus years without a fistfight is great for Little League, or an airport, or some national parliaments, but it's not what you're looking for in a pro hockey rivalry.
Reminder, the head coach of the New York Rangers used to be the head coach of the New York Islanders.
The seventh-winningest head coach in NHL history, actually.
He got his start with the Isles 23 years ago, and now he nurtures their nemesis. Seems like a decent storyline.
If only the Rangers and Islanders had storylines anymore.
Oh, they have plenty going on independently.
Peter Laviolette's Blueshirts have been in first place all year. By Christmas, the Islanders were tied for second. What a perfect time that might have been for a meeting.
If you close your eyes, you can feel the buzz. You can hear the shouting, "LET'S-GO-ISLAND-ERS-LET'S-GO-RAN-GERS!"
If only the Islanders and Rangers played anymore.
But alas, we live in the era of the "balanced schedule," the NHL's gift to fans who were tired of those tedious four-point grudge matches and begging for more low-stakes inter-conference strolls that end at 1:15 in the morning.
The result is that in the calendar year 2023, the Giants and Jets played more regular season games against each other than the Rangers and Islanders.
That's not an exaggeration. Hockey's most storied rivalry has been on hiatus since December 22, 2022, and the timing couldn't be worse.
The 2020s should be the "Roaring Twenties" for Islanders-Rangers. Think of how long it's been - four-plus decades - since both franchises were this vibrant and relevant at the same time. Think of how recently they traded trips to the semi-finals for three consecutive years. Note the train that runs directly from each team's arena to the other in 32 minutes.
If only the league cared to use it.
Right now, if this relationship were a bumper sticker, it would say "coexist."
There was momentum in 2020 when the Rangers' Jacob Trouba nearly decapitated the Isles' Michael Dal Colle. But that episode fizzled out, and as of today, no one has thrown a punch at the other side since November 24, 2021.
That's over two years without any sort of fistfight, an admirable aspiration for Little League, or an airport, or some national parliaments, but not what you're looking for in a pro hockey rivalry.
Keep in mind that this is a problem all over. What two teams in the NHL currently hate each others' guts? Let's face it - 2024 is not a heyday for ice-enmity anywhere.
One reason is there's less goonery and fighting in hockey. Overall, that has its benefits.
The other reason is the aforementioned balanced schedule. Now, what's the benefit of that?
Presumably, fairness. Since every team in the conference is competing for the same eight playoff spots, the logic goes that they should all play close to the same schedule. Sounds reasonable.
Except every team in the conference does not compete for the same eight playoff spots. Only the two wild card spots are available to everyone, and the other six spots are alloted by division. But what makes a "division" a division if we have a balanced schedule? Where is the "divide" if all 16 teams keep nearly the same appointment book?
In other words, a Metro Division team's schedule is identical to an Atlantic Division team's schedule with the exception of five measly games. So why would two such clubs be grouped separately for playoff purposes? Does that not seem arbitrary to anyone but me?
The point is, if the standings are going to be grouped by division, divisional teams such as the Rangers and Islanders need to play a lot more often.
In 2016, Stan Fischler and I did a book about the Rangers and Islanders - hat tip Skyhorse Publishing - with a second edition released in 2021. In it, we predicted the rivalry would always keep its juice, no matter how good or bad the teams are. The sport is too physical and passionate, we argued. The fanbases are too intertwined. They can't help but hate each other.
One thing we failed to consider was what if the teams play a combined 200 consecutive regular season games apart from each other? What happens then? Will that next game feel the way it's supposed to?
Well, we're about to find out.
This Sunday at 3 pm, the "House That Eli Built," a/k/a Metlife Stadium, will be tasked with reviving the Islander-Ranger rivalry, basically from scratch. But while there is no immediate controversy, the ingredients for intensity are there.
We'll have Laviolette on one bench. Patrick Roy, on the other. Playoff implications on both sides. And most importantly, 82,500 zealots with an average blood alcohol level probably higher than Jonathan Quick's save percentage. It shouldn't take long for those 82,500 fans - or all those watching elsewhere - to remember how they feel about whichever New York team they call "other."
"I don't think you lose that," veteran Islanders blueliner Ryan Pulock said of the rivalry. "I think that'll always be there."
"I'm sure it'll just take one shift to get that hatred back," Isles forward Mathew Barzal told NewYorkIslanders.com.
Here's hoping that hatred is put to good use. The teams will face off again on St. Patrick's Day, which sounds rowdy, then twice more in the final week of the season, which sounds serious.
And maybe, just maybe, if the Rangers hold on for the division title, and the Islandes swoop in for a late wild card like they did a year ago, 2024 might go down not only as the Year of the Meadowlands but the year New York's hockey teams finally met in the playoffs for the first time in 30 years. Now wouldn't that be something?
The point is, the rivalry may have taken a nap, but it's not dead yet, and it'll take a lot more than a "balanced schedule" to kill it.