NHL Betting: Rivalry Heating Up Eastern Conference Final

It took four games but the Eastern Conference finals between the Rangers and Devils has officially grown chippy. The players are taking dirty shots at one another and even the head coaches are going at it. That's playoff hockey, New York style.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to revisit the Hudson River Rivalry with this much on the line as the two teams have experienced different levels of success over the last decade. With both teams being members of the Northeast Division, they see plenty of each other in the regular season, but you’d have to go all the way back to 1994 to revisit the last time these two New York neighbors played in the Eastern Conference finals. 

New York has won four of the previous five postseason meetings between the teams and they’ve won 54% of the overall meetings in their history with New Jersey. 

The Good Years: 1994 & 1995 

If you’re a fan of this series, it doesn’t get much better than 1994 and 1995. 

Starting with 1994, the two rivals met in the Eastern Conference finals in what was one of the best playoff series we’ve ever seen. The Rangers were 6-0 against the Devils in the regular season and appeared to be in good shape to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. 

Game 1 was a classic as the Devils upended the Rangers in double-overtime thanks to Stephane Richer’s goal. In Game 2, the Rangers quickly bounced back with a 4-0 win. Game 3 was another double-overtime classic, but this time the Rangers prevailed thanks to Stephane Matteau. The series shifted from there as the Devils won Games 4 and 5 rather easily to go up 3-2 before we witnessed one of hockey’s all-time legendary moments: Mark Messier’s guarantee. 

With their backs up against the wall, the Rangers captain guaranteed a win. Not only did he talk the talk, he walked the walk with a hat trick to will his team to the win. As for Game 7, how else could it finish without more wild hysterics? 

The Rangers appeared to be ready to advance to the finals but Valeri Zelepukin kept the champagne on ice as he scored with 7.7 seconds remaining to tie the game. Eventually, the Rangers persevered to another double-overtime win – once again, thanks to Stephan Matteau. The Rangers would go on to win the Stanley Cup. 

In 1995, the two teams didn’t meet in the playoffs but it was clearly visible that the Devils had a chip on their shoulder. Still stung by the Rangers loss in the previous season, the Devils became the only team to win the Stanley Cup without having home ice advantage in any of the four rounds of the playoffs. 

Now, each side of the Hudson River had tasted the Stanley Cup. 

Rangers Too Great In 1997 

1997 would be the last time the two teams met in the postseason until 2006. While the previous meetings in the 1990’s were tenacious and hard-fought, 1997 was a cool breeze for the Blueshirts. 

Stocked with Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky, the Rangers rolled in five games. While they had plenty of firepower, the Devils were impotent, scoring just five goals in the entire series.

2006-08: Playoff Rivalry Renewed…Sort Of 

The Rangers and Devils didn't meet in the playoffs between 1998 and 2006, and when they got back to it, there just wasn’t the same level of competitiveness. The Devils won four straight in the 2006 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and the Rangers won in five in the 2008 Eastern Conference quarters. 

The biggest story of those two meetings was when Rangers pest Sean Avery used his hand to block the vision of Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, which wasn’t deemed illegal but was clearly a dirty play.  

2012: Even Steven 

The 2012 rivalry has rekindled the memories of 1994 as the two teams are back in the Eastern Conference finals. More importantly, the games have been very close, and the series has been highly contested – unlike some of the more recent meetings.