Why the New York Rangers cannot beat the Islanders

It matters more to the fans

Face it, the rivalry is more important to the fans than to the players these days.  I don’t think any Ranger players are losing sleep because they can’t beat the Islanders.  Are they annoyed?  Absolutely.  Is a win over the Islanders bigger than a win over Tampa, Nashville or the Capitals.  Absolutely not.

But for the fans, it’s huge.  The “you can’t beat us” chant is pretty effective.  It goes along with “we want chili” and “1940.”   For those of you who don’t remember, the chili chant came along when Wendy’s offered free chili to anyone with a ticket stub if the Isles scored six goals.  In November, 1979, with the Isles up 8-2, they  upped the offer to two free bowls of chili if the Isles scored ten goals. Needless to say, the chant was born and the Isles beat the Rangers 10-5.  As for “1940,” lore has it that Islander fans created the chant during the 1980-81 playoffs when the Isles eliminated the Rangers.

On the Blueshirts front, beside the Potvin chant, Ranger fans are credited with starting the singsong mocking of the opponents goalie.  Their first victim?  Billy Smith of the Isles who was serenaded with “Billlllleeeee, Billlllleeeee” after letting in a goal.

To make matters worse, it has to be irritating to Islander fans to be outnumbered by Ranger fans when the teams play in Brooklyn.  There is always a surprising number of Islander jerseys at the Garden when they meet each other.  As all fans know, the water cooler debates can be pretty heated.

Last week’s embarrassing loss should still leave a bad taste in the Rangers’ collective craws. It will be an interesting look at David Quinn’s style to see if he can inspire his troops and make this game more than just another one in a schedule of 82 games.  In the “good old days” the coach would call up Matt Beleskey and team him with Cody Mcleod, Steven Fogarty, Brendan Smith and Tony DeAngelo for the opening faceoff.  There would be a full scale brawl before the puck drop. Unfortunately, the new NHL frowns on such entertainment.

More important, we need to see if the Rangers clear the crease with some emphasis.  Cody Mcleod should see more ice time in the first period and continue his bowling ball bodychecking (while maintaining some semblance of control).  We’ll be counting the unchallenged deflections.  If the Islanders get  one, little  has changed.  My bet is on David Quinn and that it will change.