Why the Current Rangers-Devils Playoffs Matchup Is Bad

As of right now it is quite possible that we will see the Rangers and Devils battling it out in the first round of the playoffs.

The Devils seem unlikely to grab first place from the Bruins and the Rangers seem very likely to stay steady around the seven seed.

In the post-lockout era, every time the Rangers and Devils met in the playoffs, it led to disaster for the winner of the series.

April '08: Rangers Win 4-1

In the most recent iteration of the rivalry the Rangers managed to dominate the Devils. 

The Devils only managed to win one game in overtime, on a fluke goal by John Madden. 

Given the way in which the Rangers dominated the series you would have expected more from them than sputtering out in the second round to the Penguins.

April '06: Devils Sweep 4-0

Once again one team dominated this series, this time it was the Devils.  Beginning in the first game, the Devils were able to outplay a wounded Ranger team.

With such good play and a rest leading into the second round, we should have seen the Devils at least make the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead the Devils failed to take more then a game from the Hurricanes.

April '97: Rangers Win 4-1

In this classic matchup, the two met in the second round of the playoffs, the more-talented Rangers team featuring the two all-time NHL scorers (Messier and Gretzky) managed to thoroughly dominate the Devils.

Yet the Rangers came out flat versus the Flyers in the Conference Finals.

May '94: The Exception, Rangers Win 4-3

In the series that made the rivalry what it is today, both teams battled hard, and every New York-area hockey fan knows the rest of the story.

The Rangers go on to beat Vancouver and win the Stanley Cup.

Do you see the trend?

Since 1994, the Devils and Rangers haven't managed a long series.

This has nothing to do with the talent level of both teams, rather it's that their storied history leaves so much emotion that whichever team gains the early lead manages to ride a wave of momentum to a quick series victory.

Ranger and Devil fans, take note: Any playoff series that features the Rangers and Devils will only end by letting down both teams. 

Or maybe they will manage a truly great playoff series, a seven-game battle royale, then maybe, just maybe, the Stanley Cup will return to the Garden or to the Swamp.