With training camp about to open what better time than now to look at the schedule and find five New York Rangers games we can’t wait to see.
By Ernie DeFalco
With the New York Rangers opening training camp on September 18 and their first pre-season game on October 7 the time is now to start thinking about the 2015-2016 regular season and what is has in store.
While everyone loves the first game of the season there are so many hidden gems on the schedule. They make you want to push the calendar ahead a couple weeks to get to that game.
Some fans have a favorite opposing player they want to see, others have a family member that loves a hated rival and it is time to talk to some smack. You can come up with any reason to make a game a little more important then another.
Here are five games on the Rangers schedule that will be certainly worth tuning in for or logging onto your favorite secondary ticket market site and trying to get into the building.
Here is Elite Sports NY’s list of five New York Rangers games to circle on the calendar.
Saturday, October 10- Rangers vs. Blue Jackets
The home opener is always a treat for New York Rangers fans. It was better when teams wore white at home, but that is a story for another time.
The Rangers will host the Columbus Blue Jackets, who may be the most improved team in the conference. With the addition of forward Brandon Saad, via a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Blue Jackets mean business this year and are looking to take the next step of being a team to contend in the Eastern Conference.
There is no shortage of bad blood between these teams since the Rick Nash trade. This game means so much to Nash that, in the past, he has pushed a Blue Jackets goalie and he even got in a fight while facing his former team. If he only brought that type of intensity to playoff games Rangers fans would love him.
The Blue Jackets are led by former Ranger Brandon Dubinsky and they always seem to bring their “A-game” against the Rangers.
Expect a knock out drag out war whenever these two teams face off. What better time then opening night at Madison Square Garden for the Blue Jackets to prove they belong with the elite.
Thursday, November 19- Rangers vs. Lightning
The Rangers travel to sunny F-L-A in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The game will be less about revenge and more about being able to see if the Rangers can hang with, what should turn out to be, one of the better teams in hockey. Tampa Bay crushed the Rangers dreams of playing in the Stanley Cup Final, in two straight seasons, by beating the Rangers in a hard fought seven game Eastern Conference Final last season.
Anytime Ryan Callahan takes the ice against the Rangers, it gets the blueshirt faithful ready to battle. Some fans still feel he should be a Ranger and others say good riddance at that salary cap hit.
Add into the mix former Rangers Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman and you have a recipe for a number of storylines to develop.
Once this game is over it will bring some closure to last seasons disappointment and prove to the Rangers just where they stand in the Eastern Conference.
Wednesday, December 2- Rangers Vs. Islanders
New York Rangers and New York Islanders fans have to wait until December to battle for some real bragging rights.
The Rangers and the Islanders are polar opposites, but still seem to match up well. The Rangers are full of veterans and built from the net out. The Islanders have a ton of youth and can score goals with the best of them.
It does not get any better for crosstown blood to boil, between the fans and teams, then when these two teams face off. This rivalry is at its apex when both teams are good and that is exactly where we stand right now.
This will mark the Rangers first visit to the Barclays Center, with the hopes of finding it friendlier than the Coliseum ever was. Islanders faithful just hope the Barclays doesn’t price out the true blue Islanders fans and cause the Barclays to be a home away from home to the Rangers faithful willing to shell out the big bucks to watch their team.
Friday, Dec 15- Rangers vs. Oilers
Although this will be the second meeting between the two teams, this is the first one at Madison Square Garden.
That means one thing for Rangers fans and that is fan favorite and reigning Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award winner Cam Talbot comes to town.
It will be a perfect time for Rangers fans to give him a nice hand and let him know how much they appreciated his time wearing a Rangers sweater. Of course then it is time to turn on the old backup net minder when he stones Derek Stepan from point blank range. The chants of Tal-Bot can be heard already.
Lost in the Talbot welcome home will be the first ever appearance on Broadway for wunderkind Conner McDavid. McDavid has been touted as the next Sidney Crosby, and we will know how much Rangers fans love Sid the Kid.
Expect a better reaction for McDavid, as Rangers fans will appreciate the skill this kid brings to the game. Especially when it is located in the Western Conference and isn’t crying to the referees all game.
Thursday, April 7- Rangers vs. Islanders
The schedule makers knew what they were doing when they scheduled the Rangers vs. Islanders for the second to last game of the season, hopefully the teams will reward them with a game that means something.
Both teams are expected to be fighting for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and this game could be the deciding factor in who comes out on top. This game could be a mini-playoff game prior to the playoffs even getting under way.
This rivalry is taken to another level when both teams are playing good hockey, but a regular season game that could decide playoff position or dare I say a playoff spot is exactly what you want out of a late season game.
Could one team have a chance to spoil the other teams chance of making the playoffs? If it does it could happen on this night and keep the bad blood flowing in this New York hockey rivalry.
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