The Rangers-Islanders rivalry lives on
By Steve Paulus
Fans are most looking forward to the New York Rangers vs New York Islanders rivalry
Rejoice, Blueshirt fans! With the new divisions set for the 2021 season, rivalries abound for the New York Rangers. Blue Line Stations conducted an informal Twitter poll to see which rivalry fans think will be the best this upcoming season. The Islanders won, hands down.
It looks like the Rangers' division is set with many historic rivalries. Of these four longtime rivals, which will be the best one this crazy season? (sorry, no room for Washington, Buffalo or New Jersey)
— Blue Line Station (@BlueLineStation) December 20, 2020
With the Blueshirts playing each team in their division eight times and with the schedule loaded with back-to-back games, it’s going to be an exciting season. We had a preview of what this schedule will be like last season when the Rangers played the Islanders three times in nine days in January.
The Rangers won the first two games, the first 6-2 at the Garden. It was the Artemi Panarin show as he established a personal high with five points on two goals and three assists. The second game, at the Nassau Coliseum, was a nail biter with Chris Kreider scoring the winning goal on the power play with 25 seconds left in the game.
The third game was a 4-2 Islander win at Madison Square Garden, the only game that Artemi Panarin missed the whole season, out with an upper body injury.
Alexandar Georgiev was in net for all three games based on his play against the Isles. Was there any bad blood in the series? It was apparent when Scott Mayfield speared Brendan Lemieux in the third period of the third game, getting a double minor.