Devils next

Devils next for Rangers

By Andrew Gross / The Record 5/14/2012

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The pre-game scoreboard presentation at Madison Square Garden is full of highlights from the Rangers’ 86 seasons, including reminders of the team’s 1994 Stanley Cup victory as well as a exhortation from former general manager/coach Emile Francis to keep this playoff drive alive.

So these top-seeded Rangers know they are only halfway toward their ultimate goal as they host the sixth-seeded Devils Monday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference final.

"It’s a surreal thought that we’re in close position to create some really great memories in New York hockey," Rangers left
wing Mike Rupp said on Sunday.
The cross-Hudson rivals are meeting in the playoffs for the sixth time — the Rangers have won all but one of the series — and for the first time since the Rangers’ give-game win in the first round of the 2008 playoffs. But it’s the first time they’ve met in the conference final since the Rangers’ epic seven-game win thanks to Stephane Matteau’s double-overtime winner in Game 7 en route to the Stanley Cup in 1994.
Ancient history aside, the Rangers went 3-2-1 against their Atlantic Division rival in the regular season with three of the games featuring fights in the opening seconds. The Rangers’ 4-2 win on March 19 featured a three-on-three line fight to start the game, Rangers coach John Tortorella yelling at Devils counterpart Pete DeBoer for starting Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton and Ryan Carter, to which he countered with Stu Bickel, Rupp and Brandon Prust.
Afterward, DeBoer called Tortorella a "hypocrite" with "short-term memory loss" and Tortorella responded that DeBoer should "just shut up."
"I think it’s going to be physical," Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. "They’ve been chippy games every time we played them in the regular season. I don’t see that changing. I’m sure you’re not going to see guys fighting on an opening faceoff, but it’s going to be intense."
Rupp and Prust described the "hatred" the teams feel for one another and Rupp, in particular, should know as he’s played for both, including lifting the Cup with the Devils in 2003.
"I remember being on the other side and in the playoffs there were more blue jerseys than red (in the stands)," Rupp said. "It just made you hate them more."
"I always love playing these guys," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal added. "In the regular season, it feels like a playoff game. It should be much more now."
And the fact that the teams are meeting in the conference final will make this series prime news in the local area for up to the next two weeks.
To Tortorella, this is all part of the process of turning the Rangers into an "elite" team, something their inclusion in the league’s final four might suggest they already are.
"I think when you get into this, it’s not about winning two rounds, it’s about trying to finish up and doing the things you need to do to get your ultimate goal," Tortorella said. "This is halfway and this is part of the growing that we need to go through, especially some of the younger guys and how long this tournament is.
"I don’t think we are (an elite team)," Tortorella added. "There’s a lot of things we need to go through to become that. Being an elite team is doing it consistently, year after year. I like where we’re going, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to put this in a negative vein. I like where we’ve gone this year and we’ve taken steps in the right direction but we still have quite a bit of growing to do."