First meeting | October 5, 1982 |
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Latest meeting | October 14, 2017 |
Next meeting | December 9, 2017 |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 274 |
All-time series | 132–106–27–9 (NYR) |
Regular season series | 114–90–27–9 (NYR) |
Postseason results | 18–16 (NYR) |
Longest win streak | NYR W7 |
Current win streak | NJ W2 |
Post-season history | |
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The Devils–Rangers rivalry (also known as the Hudson River rivalry), is an ice hockey rivalry between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers clubs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The two teams are called "cross-river rivals." This is because Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, where the Rangers play, is less than ten miles and across the Hudson River from the Prudential Center in downtown Newark (and previously, the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford), the home of the Devils. Travel between both arenas is easily accomplished by both road (usually through the Lincoln Tunnel) and rail (along the Northeast Corridor and PATH).
The Devils and Rangers are two of the three teams that play in the New York City metropolitan area, the other being the New York Islanders. All three teams have fierce, bitter rivalries with each other, as well as with the other (now formerly) Atlantic Division teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The rivalry began when the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey to become the Devils. For the relocation, they were required to pay massive indemnities to the Rangers, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, geographically-proximate teams, for the right to share New Jersey market. For over 25 years, fans of both the Rangers and Devils have seen the best out of both their clubs whenever they meet. Despite the Devils' overall Stanley Cup playoff superiority since the 1990s, the first three playoff series between these teams were all Rangers victories. Their first meeting occurred in the spring of 1992, when the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers survived a seven-game Patrick Division Semifinal series with the Devils.