Why Rangers rivalry with Islanders may return ‘after years … going stale’
At one time, the New York Rangers and their suburban counterparts, the New York Islanders, owned what might have been the most intense rivalry in the NHL. Though that’s not been the case for quite a while, there are reasons to believe that a new era for this New York-New York rivalry is beginning to take root.
Fueling the fire for a rivalry revival is a kid who just turned 18 years old yet is turning heads in the hockey world for his brilliant play, maturity, confident demeanor and willingness to speak his mind. That would be defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, who is the center of the Islanders’ universe these days.
“He loves the rivalry, he wants to get the rivalry going. He gets it. That fire, he wants to play a part in bringing that rivalry back,” Islanders beat reporter Stefen Rosner told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast. “You could see it the way he talked about it at the draft. He wants to make it known that he wants to beat the Rangers every time he can. I think for a fan base that’s been dying for this kind of stuff, you have a player that knows and understands how important it is for him to get fans interest back, get the rivalry going after years of it going stale.”
Wise beyond his years, and certainly no quiet wallflower, Schaefer told reporters at the draft, “we’re going to beat the Rangers every time we play them.”
With that one short statement, Schaefer endeared himself forever to Islanders fans and provided the Rangers faithful a Long Island villain to root against. Sure, this isn’t Denis Potvin breaking Ulf Nilsson’s ankle with a check back in the 1978-79 season and decades later the Garden still quakes with “Potvin Sucks!” chants — even when the Islanders aren’t in the building.
But it’s a good building block to restoring this rivalry to where it once stood in the NHL.
And it didn’t hurt the budding rivalry when he chirped Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist during an interview on TNT.
The funny thing is, Rosner contends that the 18-year-old wonderkid “is not an attention seeker.” But he’s willing to put himself out there to let Islanders fans know that he understands them, their history, their passion. If he angers Rangers fans along the way, so be it.
And if you’re a member of the Blueshirts Faithful, don’t you want to simply dislike — maybe even hate — the Islanders again? Of course you do.
Matthew Schaefer could be next villain for Rangers fans to despise
Schaefer plays his first regular-season game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The Rangers (7-6-2), of course, have yet to win on home ice, a historically bad 0-5-1 start there. The Islanders (6-6-2) are right behind them in the tight Metropolitan Division standings.
“Starting his career with the first game at The Garden is a bigger deal for the rivalry then if it was on Long Island, because it’s MSG. If you want to be the best player in the world, go do it on MSG ice,” Rosner noted.
Schaefer is more than living up to his top pick status. He was NHL Rookie of the Month in October, and enters play Saturday with 11 points in 14 games, second-most among all first-year players. His five goals are tied for most among NHL rookies, and his three power-play goals are more than any other rookie.
He’s also averaging 22:07 TOI, not only tops among League rookies, but more than any other player on the Islanders roster. Did we mention that he turned 18 less than two months ago?
Cue the Potvin comparisons — minus that infamous hit — and, yes, the Rangers and their fans have a burgeoning villain on their hands.
He’s become a target already for opposing teams. The latest example was the most severe yet, when Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov rag-dolled Schaefer and nearly set off a riot on the ice at UBS Arena on Tuesday.
Which leads Rosner to another thought.
“I think with the way things are going, the amount of times he gets jumped or takes big hits, all it’s going to take is one big hit from a Ranger on Schaefer and all hell is going to break loose,” Rosner said. “Then you get back to that rivalry where they truly hate each other.”
Of course, what truly makes for a rivalry is when each team is good, and preferably there are playoff series against one another. Think the Islanders upsetting the Rangers in the 1975 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Blueshirts returning the favor in 1979. This rivalry was never more heated than when the Rangers and Islanders met in the playoffs five times in a six-year span from 1979-84.
It hasn’t been the same since — but Rosner is holding out hope for better days and new memories in the near future.
“I think they’re going to be neck and neck in the standings [this season],” he said. “But I think the Islanders [could be better]. Schaefer might put them over the top.”
