Stan Fischler - Rangers vs. Islanders: Denis Potvin, Mark Messier, and Everything Else You Wanted to Know about New York?s Greatest Hockey Rivalry

Copyright 2016 by Stan Fischler and Zachary Weinstock

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit AP Images

ISBN: 978-1-61321-931-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-932-4

Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION

Zach:

My first live NHL game was Islanders-Rangers, February 13, 1993. Perhaps thats how hockey became my favorite sport. They say you only get one chance at a first impression, and what is more impressive than the Battle of New York?

I was eight and had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that the Rangers were playing. When we rolled into the Nassau Coliseum parking lot, I thought, Wow, that was quick. Who are these Islanders people, and how come they play so close to our house?

One of the most enchanting qualities of the old barn was the smella combination of hot pretzels, stale popcorn, wet cigarette, some Bacitracin, and steamed vinegar, if thats a thing, which on second thought, I dont believe it is. The pre-renovation Garden had a smell, tooboiled hot dogs and Budweiser.

I was captivated by the bigness of the event and by hockey culturehow the people screamed and cursed at one another and couldnt agree on anything until intermission, when an Islanders fan proposed to his girlfriend on the ice, and the whole crowd pleaded, Say No!

I also picked up on hockey sweater demographics. Every woman had a Pierre Turgeon jersey. But young men, particularly long-haired grunge-types (it was 1993, remember), wore the tough guys jerseysMick Vukota, or Rich Pilon, or Tie Domi, or Ken Baumgartner. I found that hysterical. Dont mess with me. My favorite player can beat you up.

Turgeon drew an empty-net breakaway to cap the night. The moment he touched the puck, the entire place jumped up at once and homemade confetti fluttered everywhere. I climbed my chair to catch a glimpse as he glided toward the goal without a drop of ostentation in his blood, gently laid the puck in flat along the ice, curled into the left-wing corner, head down, and skated away. It was so elegant and, in my opinion, taught nothing more about empty-net goals than it did about life: keep your eyes on the prize, do what you have to, be grateful, even prideful, but dont ever show off, even for your biggest rivals.

This book is not dedicated to Pierre Turgeon, though he will be well reviewed down the pages. It is dedicated to my father, David Weinstock, and his buddy Alan Peyser, who drove me 15 short miles to Nassau Coliseum, which in turn drove me to the wonderful insanity known as hockey fandom.

Stan:

One of the most interesting rivalries that I know involves my younger son, Simon, and his son Ariel as well as older daughter Odel, who live in the Golan Heights area of Israel. All three are avid hockey fans. Simon and Odel are Islanders-rooters, and you would think that Ariel would follow suit. But such are the vagaries of NHL support. It turns out that my grandson is a Rangers fan. And thus, another intrafamily rivalry. What I like most about it is that when the teams are not playing each other, Simon and Odel root for the Rangers, and Ariel roots for the Islanders to do welland thats nice.

Continents away, my older son Ben and his sons, Ezra and Niko, take a more distant view of the ice wars but appreciate our intensity nonetheless. From my end of the rink, this book is dedicated to the families of Simon and Ben and their continued support and understanding of my hockey-mania.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ON RECORDS, POINTS, AND GAMES IN HAND

You might notice that National Hockey League standings are presented throughout this history book in a manner to which you may not be accustomed.

It will read like a baseball pennant race, with games and half-games as opposed to points and games in hand.

Do not be alarmed. Everything is fine.

Instead of points, we use a teams record. Now, ready for the big secret?

Points and record are directly correlated.

They are the same thing, only record is accurately adjusted for discrepancies in the all-importantbut constantly overlookedgames played column.

Whenever games played are equal, the team with the better record always has more points, at a rate of exactly one point per game over or under the .500 mark. We promise.

Try the math for yourself. Well wait

Pretty cool, right?

So at the end of the season, when every team has played the same amount of games, NHL standings will always go in order of record. And what else could we possibly care about?

In fact, go check. Any year, any division

Told you.

THE CHANTS

Islanders fans and Rangers fans like to get on each others nerves.

Broadway backers refer to their chief rival as the Ice-landers, and its late suburban arena as the Nassau Mausoleum.

Isles fans call the Rangers the Strangers and the Rags. In print, they add a dollar sign, as in Rag$.

Then there are the chants and the songs, sung over the years in both arenas at every game against every NHL team.

For those unfamiliar, a beginners guide:

Potvin Sucks

TUNE OF: Lets Go Band, traditional.

LYRICS: Pot! Vin! Sucks!

WHEN APPLIED: As the closing three notes of the traditional marching band tune, Lets Go Band, after anyone in the audience whistles the first four bars. Usually during a lull in play, such as line changes.

OR: Any time two or more Rangers fans are in the same place.

1940

TUNE OF: Chant.

LYRICS: Nine! Teen! For! Ty! Clap, clapclap-clap-clap!

WHEN APPLIED: Every Rangers visit to Nassau Coliseum between 1981 and 1994.

OR: Any time an Islanders fan saw a Rangers fan anywhere during those years.

1940 was the one chant that spread outside New York. By the 90s, the Rangers were hearing it in buildings all over the league.

The Chicken Dance

TUNE OF: The Chicken Dance, by Werner Thomas.

LYRICS: The Rangers Suck.

WHEN APPLIED: To close every verse of The Chicken Dance, when played by Coliseum organist Paul Cartier at games between November 8, 2001, and the 201011 season.

The Right Stuff

TUNE OF: You Got It (The Right Stuff), by New Kids on the Block.

LYRICS: Rangers Suck.

WHEN APPLIED: At Islanders home games in the late 80s and early 90s, when the Coliseum public address system would play the chorus of the New Kids on the Block hit, which in real life culminates with the boys chanting, The Right Stuff.

Heave-Ho! Rangers Blow!

TUNE OF: No tune.

LYRICS: Heave-ho, Rangers blow.

WHEN APPLIED: In the 70s and 80s, by Islanders fans. No one knows why.

k the Rangers!

TUNE OF: Chant.

LYRICS: the Rangers!

WHEN APPLIED: During the national anthem at Islanders games from the mid-late 90s through the early 2000s, between And the rockets red glare and The bombs bursting in air.