Hockey fans from both sides of the Hudson are gearing up Monday for a Rangers-Devils series likely to be a gritty throwdown on ice in both midtown and Newark.
Fans have been proudly displaying their team colors with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Monday night. This is the first time that the two teams have faced off for a shot at the Stanley Cup Finals since 1994, when the Rangers went on to win their fourth and most recent title.
“The Rangers-Devils series are always the best. You don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Pete Rossi, 26, an attorney from Trenton whose loyalties nevertheless lie with New York’s team.
Although the Devils have won more championships than the Rangers, the Blueshirts have won four of their five playoff series.
The teams split six games during the season, which included a six-man melee that erupted just seconds after a March 19 game at the Garden began.
“It’s a little different in the playoffs, so I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Rangers defenseman Marc Stall told NHL.com.
Despite the teams’ vows to clean up their acts, Nick Montemagano, a contributor to the Rangers Tribune blog, predicted this series will be intense as both sides are battle-tested.
“It’s going to be closely played all throughout, and I sure wouldn’t be surprised to see yet another series head to a seventh game,” Montemagano said.
The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Rangers, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns amNewYork.
