The Islanders–Rangers rivalry, also known as the Battle of New York, is a local sports rivalry between the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
and
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL). Both teams play in
New York, with the Rangers in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, and the Islanders in the
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
county of
Nassau near its border with
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. They are two of the three teams that play in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
, the other being the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
who play in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
.
Like the
Knicks–Nets rivalry of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) and the old
Dodgers–Giants rivalry of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB), the two teams are in the same division and thus play several matches together each season. In contrast, the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
and
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
are in different
leagues while the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
and
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) are in different conferences, and as such those teams meet rarely, either during interconference or championship games.
History
1970s
The rivalry was established in late 1971, when the National Hockey League awarded a second franchise in the New York metropolitan area. With the impending start of the
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...
in the fall of
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, the upstart league had plans to place a team, the
New York Raiders, in the then-new
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, a ...
in
Nassau County. The NHL did not want competition in the nation's largest metro area, so despite having expanded two years before, the NHL awarded franchises to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
(which ultimately failed and moved to Calgary) and Long Island to preempt the WHA. The fledgling New York Islanders had an extra burden to pay in the form of a $4 million territorial fee to the nearby New York Rangers. In the 1974–75 season, the Islanders made their first postseason appearance while the Rangers qualified for the ninth straight season. The two teams met in the preliminary round. The Islanders won game one in Madison Square Garden, but the Rangers tied the series at one by defeating the Islanders 8–3 on the road. The Islanders won the series 2–1 as they beat the Rangers 4–3 11 seconds into overtime on
J. P. Parise's goal at the Garden. The teams squared off again in the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, but this time in the semifinals. The Rangers took game one on the road, but the Islanders tied the series with an overtime win. The Rangers took game three at home, but once again, the Islanders tied the series with another overtime win. The Rangers won games five and six to end the Islanders' season, but lost to Montreal in the
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...
.
1980s
The two clubs would battle once again in the semifinals of the
1981 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Islanders won the Stanley Cup the previous year, and looked to defend their title. Islanders devastated the Rangers by sweeping the series and winning all four games by at least three goals. The Islanders were crowned
Stanley Cup champions
The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892, and is the oldest professional sports trophy in Nor ...
once again as they beat the
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
in the Finals. The next season, the teams met again in the playoffs, this time in the division finals. The Rangers took game one on the road, but the Islanders won the next three. The Rangers struck back to win game five on the road, but were eliminated in game six. The Islanders swept their opponents in the next two rounds and won the
Cup
A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...
for the third straight year. The teams met in the division finals yet again in the
1982–83 season. The Islanders took a 2–0 series lead by winning two home games, but then the Rangers tied the series at two by winning their home games. The Islanders won games five and six to move to claim their fourth straight
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
. In the
1983–84 season, the teams fought in the division semifinals. The Islanders took game one, but the Rangers won games two and three 3–0 and 7–2 respectively. The Islanders won game four, and then won the series 3–2 with an overtime win. This time, the Islanders moved on to the Finals, but lost in a rematch to the Oilers. The rivalry remained intense throughout the late 1980s, but only during the regular season. Islanders fans often mocked the Rangers by chanting "1940" to tease them about their Stanley Cup drought, one of the longest championship droughts in NHL history and all of sports.
1990s
In the
1989–90 season, the teams met in the division semifinals yet again. The Rangers took games one and two at home, but the Islanders battled hard to win game three in double overtime. The Rangers ended up winning the series 4–1 but lost to the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...
in the second round. After Islanders legends
Bryan Trottier,
Mike Bossy
Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...
,
Denis Potvin
Denis Charles Potvin (born October 29, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey), team captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a four-time Stanley Cup winner as a ...
,
Clark Gillies,
Brent Sutter,
Pat LaFontaine,
John Tonelli,
Bob Bourne and
Bobby Nystrom retired or left the team, the Islanders did not achieve the same success as they did in the 1980s. The Rangers on the other hand, acquired key players like
Mark Messier and
Adam Graves, as well as drafting key players including
Brian Leetch and
Alexei Kovalev. The two teams met in the playoff during the
1993–94 season in the conference quarterfinals. The Rangers swept the Islanders, outscoring them 22–3, and then beat the Capitals,
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
, and
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
to win their first
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
since 1940. That was the Islanders' last playoff appearance of the decade. The Rangers gained
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
who helped them back to the conference finals in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
, but they were eliminated by Philadelphia.
2000s
During the 2000s, the Islanders made only four playoff appearances. The Rangers missed the playoffs eight straight years (including the 2004–05 lockout), prior to signing All-Star
Jaromir Jagr, and qualifying for the
2006 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 NHL season, 2005–06 regular season. This was the first playoffs since 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, 2004 due to the 2 ...
. The Rangers made it to the second round in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
and
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
with the help of Swedish goaltender
Henrik Lundqvist. The Islanders made it to the 2007 playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round.
Announced in 2001, the
Pat LaFontaine Trophy was awarded to the winner of the Islanders–Rangers regular season series; it is unclear whether the trophy has been acknowledged by either team since the early 2000s.
2010–present
The Rangers had an eight-game home winning streak versus the Islanders until the Islanders beat them in a shootout on February 14, 2013. This was balanced by the Islanders winning four games in Madison Square Garden during this time.
The Islanders' first overall draft pick in 2009,
John Tavares, scored 20+ goals in the past six seasons and led them back to the playoffs in
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
and
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
. On April 13, 2013, during a Rangers–Islanders game at
Nassau Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the Borough (New York City), borough of Q ...
, the Rangers and Islanders were both scoreless in regulation for the first time since 1989, but defenseman
Daniel Girardi won it for the Rangers in overtime.
On January 29, 2014, the Rangers defeated the Islanders 2–1 in the third game of the
2014 NHL Stadium Series; that game was held at
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...
. The winning goal was scored by
Daniel Carcillo in the third period.
In the
2015–16 season, the Islanders moved from Nassau Coliseum to the
Barclays Center
Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, officially making it a true intra-city rivalry within New York City. The Islanders then completed their first-ever season sweep of the Rangers, en route to winning their first playoff series since 1993 defeating the
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
four games to two.
In the
2017–18 season, the Islanders once again swept the Rangers, improving their record to 11–1–0 against them over the previous three seasons.
In the
2018–19 season, the Islanders began to split their home games between Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum. The use of both arenas continued until the scheduled 2021 completion of their new home,
UBS Arena in
Elmont, outside the New York City border. All of the Islanders' home games with the Rangers through the 2019–20 season were scheduled to be played at Barclays Center, but on September 23, the Islanders moved seven more games from the Barclays Center, two of which against the Rangers, making it a total of 28 games to be played at Nassau Coliseum.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the Islanders and Rangers played eight times in the
2020–21 season, the most games the teams played against each other in a season since the
2007–08 season. The Islanders won six games, en route to making the playoffs over the Rangers.
In the
2021–22 season, teams played the first game of the rivalry in the newly-opened
UBS Arena. The Rangers won the inaugural game 4–1, denying the Islanders a chance to beat the Rangers for their first win at UBS Arena. Later in the season, the Islanders would get their revenge, winning both games at Madison Square Garden, and ultimately, both teams finished with a 2–2 record against each other.
Due to changes in the scheduling process, the teams only played three times in the
2022–23 season, all of which were before Christmas. The Islanders, thanks to a third period comeback in the second game out of three, won the overall season series 2–1. The three games the teams played against each other was the fewest number of times the two rivals had played each other in the 50-year history of the rivalry.
Meetings
Regular season
The Islanders and Rangers play each other four times each regular season, with each team hosting two games. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the rivalry was mostly one-sided in favor of the dominant Islanders, who ultimately won four Stanley Cup championships in a row during that time. However, since 1994, the rivalry has shifted more towards the Rangers. The Rangers won their fourth
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
and have experienced much playoff success since, including five appearances in the Eastern Conference finals in 1997, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2022 (where they lost to two of their biggest rivals other than the Islanders, the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
(in 1997) and
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
(in 2012)), as well as a trip to the
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...
in
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
. The Islanders, on the other hand, did not win a playoff series after 1993 until their victory over the
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
in 2016 but have gone to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021. Since the
2015–16 season the Islanders have won 13 of the last 16 games between the two teams, and at one point had won eight in a row, making the rivalry one-sided in favor of the Islanders as of late.
Playoffs
In 1975, the Islanders made their first trip to the NHL playoffs, facing the heavily favored Rangers in a best-of-three first-round series. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders won game three, and the series, when
J. P. Parise scored 11 seconds into overtime. The teams met again in the 1979 playoffs; this time the underdog Rangers were victorious, eliminating the heavily favored Islanders in six games and earning a spot in the
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...
.
This was particularly memorable as it continued the Islanders' reputation for playoff "chokes" despite finishing
first in the league during the regular season.
The teams met in the playoffs every year from 1981 to 1984; the Islanders won each series by margins of 4–0, 4–2, 4–2 and 3–2 en route to four finals and three Stanley Cups (in addition to their win to make it four championships and five finals in a row). In the 1990s, the teams met twice, with the Rangers winning 4–1 in 1990, and sweeping the Islanders 4–0 in 1994, en route to winning their first Stanley Cup since 1940. The 1994 first-round playoff series is the most recent meeting between the two teams in the playoffs.
Alumni Classic
Since 2022, the two teams have scheduled alumni games, featuring two 30-minute halves and ex-players. The Islanders won the first and second games, 9–8 and 11–9, respectively. The Rangers won the third game, 6–4, while the Islanders won the 2025 game, 4–2.
Fan reaction
The Rangers' fanbase generally comes from the city's five boroughs,
Westchester,
Rockland, and
Fairfield counties, while the Islanders tend to draw fans from Long Island, specifically the
Nassau and
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
counties, Brooklyn, and parts of eastern Queens. Fans will frequently direct derisive chants at their rivals during games, regardless of whether the two teams are actually playing each other. At each home game, Ranger fans engage in perhaps their most popular chant: whistling the song "Let's Go Band" and punctuating it with "
Potvin sucks!" This is a reference to retired Islander,
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
defenseman
Denis Potvin
Denis Charles Potvin (born October 29, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey), team captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a four-time Stanley Cup winner as a ...
, who angered Rangers fans by breaking center
Ulf Nilsson's ankle. Nilsson never characterized Potvin's hit as dirty and blames his broken ankle on his skate getting caught in a crevice in the ice at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
resulting in one leg taking the full weight of the hit. In a 2009 interview, 30 years after the hit, Nilsson said, "He
otvinwas always fair. But the ice was never great in the Garden because they had basketball and other events. My foot just got caught. It was a freak thing." Nevertheless, this has not deterred Rangers fans from continuing their chant to this day. Rangers fans also occasionally bring out the chant "Beat your wife, Potvin, beat your wife", a reference to allegations made by his former wife during their divorce proceedings that Potvin committed domestic abuse. Potvin denied this and was never criminally charged. Lastly, Rangers fans taunted Islanders goaltender
Rick DiPietro by chanting "DP Sucks!" After the Islanders changed their logo to one closely resembling the
Gorton's fisherman, Rangers fans chanted "We want
fishsticks" at the Islanders for several years, even after the logo was discarded.
During their sweep of the Rangers in the 1981 semifinals, Islander fans started chanting "
1940!" referring to the Rangers having the all-time longest drought without winning the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
. This chant was picked up by other NHL fans as well until the Rangers finally won in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
.
At many home games, Islanders fans would punctuate the "
Chicken Dance" with chants of "the Rangers suck." The Islanders had stopped playing the song at games for a length of time but as of the 2007–08 season the song is played solely at Islanders–Rangers games. Rangers winger
Theoren Fleury
Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of the ...
used the chant as an excuse for flapping his arms to taunt Islanders
enforcer Eric Cairns. In addition a popular chant was "Crackhead Theo!" referring to Fleury's erratic behavior and history of substance abuse at the time. Islanders currently sing a song to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It", replacing the standard lyrics with "If you know the Rangers suck, clap your hands, If you know the Rangers suck, and we're gonna win the Cup (referring to the Stanley Cup), if you know the Rangers suck clap your hands" There are variations to the third line in the song, including "if you know the Rangers suck and they'll never win the Cup" and "if you know the Rangers suck, in '94 they bought the Cup".
Incidents
One well-known incident at an
Islanders–Flyers game in 2003 turned a holiday promotion at Nassau Coliseum into an on-ice shoving match between Rangers and Islanders fans in Santa suits.
See also
*
List of NHL rivalries
*
Devils–Rangers rivalry
*
Giants–Jets rivalry
*
Knicks–Nets rivalry
*
Mets–Yankees rivalry
*
Hudson River Derby
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islanders-Rangers rivalry
New York Islanders
History of the New York Rangers
National Hockey League rivalries
National Hockey League in the New York metropolitan area
1972 establishments in New York (state)