The biggest rivalry of the New Jersey Devils is the New York Rangers. These two Metropolitan Division foes go way back even before the Metropolitan Division existed. As they say, the Hudson River Rivalry is a tale as old as time (or at least as old as 1982).
This rivalry has had many renditions, and all have been entertaining. From Sean Avery trying to annoy Martin Brodeur to the most memorable goal ever scored at the Prudential Center, more on that later, to perhaps right now. Adam Henrique scored a goal at 1:03 of overtime in Game Six of the 2012 Eastern Conference Final that sent the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals. This was a sweet moment for Devils fans, and it was even more sweet because it was against the Rangers.
The call of “Henrique, It’s Over”, changed the rivalry forever as the Devils gained themselves some bragging rights! Some things have changed for them both, but that is a chapter of the rivalry that nobody will ever forget.
2012 was a long time ago, but sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. The Devils and Rangers are no longer the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. This is pretty late in the season for these two to have their first meeting of the year, but right now the Rangers have only 49 points and the Devils have 45.
Neither are likely going to see the playoffs yet both have a pretty bright future. They have both come pretty close to winning the Stanley Cup this decade, but both fell just short and are looking to get back to that level.
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Both of them have had some luck drafting and seem to have a bright future. They are likely going to get back to the top around the same time, which is fun for all fans involved.
So what should we expect during a down year for both? Like nothing has changed. The players know just as much as the fans about this Hudson River Rivalry and it is a heavy rivalry during good times and bad for each franchise. Let’s say it like it is, neither team is as bad as an NHL team can be while rebuilding.
The Rangers are a little bit earlier in their rebuild and that is largely because they still have Henrik Lundqvist as their starting goaltender. It is hard to claim you are rebuilding when he is still there playing well. The Devils won the draft lottery in 2017 and their selection of Nico Hischier seems to be paying off as he is the teams top center at 20 years old.
Both franchises are on the down right now but it won’t be long before they are back in it. None of that will matter when the puck drops on Thursday night at the Prudential Center. The Devils will be wearing their retro White, Green and Red jerseys for this one. The next chapter of the Hudson River Rivalry is upon us, be excited.