The New York Rangers and New York Islanders can play each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if each club advances past the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series.
The Rangers currently lead the Washington Capitals 1-0, winning the series opening game on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The Islanders trail the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0, blowing a 3-0 lead in Raleigh as that series shifts to Long Island.
The Islanders strung together victories at the end of the regular season to earn the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. They went 8-1-1 to clinch a post-season birth.
The urbanites and suburbanites have faced off in the post-season eight times. The rivalry began as the Islanders shocked the hockey world and dispatched the Rangers in 1975, three years after it's inception.
The Rangers defeated the Islanders in 1979 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
In the early 1980s, the Islanders won four series in a row and three of the series led to a championship for the Islanders.
The Rangers finally won in 1990, and again in 1994 when they swept their cross-town rivals in the first round and ended a 54-year championship drought.
The two teams have not met in the playoffs since the Rangers last won the Stanley Cup 30 years ago.
The Blueshirts have a legitimate chance to sweep an opponent for the first time since 2007 when they won four straight games against the now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers.
As for the Islanders, it will be an uphill battle to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, whom they have met in three of the last six years. The Hurricanes swept the Islanders in 2019 and defeated the Islanders in six games last year.
Head to head, the Rangers won the season series with a 3-1-0 record against the Islanders, all four contests played after the NHL All-Star break.
Unless the Islanders and Capitals find another gear, the Hurricanes and Rangers are on a crash course to play each other for the second time in three seasons.