Devils – Rangers rivalry The New York Rangers - New Jersey Devils rivalry exist between two National Hockey League teams in the New York metropolitan area . The two teams are called " cross - river rivals . " This is because Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan , where the Rangers play , is less than ten miles and across the Hudson River from the Prudential Center in downtown Newark ( and previously , the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford ) , the home ice of the Devils . Travel between both arenas is easily accomplished by both road ( usually through the Lincoln Tunnel ) and rail ( along the Northeast Corridor and Port Authority Trans Hudson ) . History . The rivalry began when the Devils moved from Colorado to the New York City metropolitan area , in spite of the territorial fees paid to the Rangers , New York Islanders , and Philadelphia Flyers . For over 25 years , fans of both the Rangers and Devils have seen the best out of both their clubs whenever they meet . Despite the Devils ' overall playoff superiority since the 1990s , the first three playoff series between these teams were all Rangers victories . Their first meeting occurred in 1992 Patrick Division Semi - Finals , when the Presidents ' Trophy - winning Rangers survived a 7 game Patrick Division Semifinal series with the Devils . Stanley Cup Champions of 1994 and 1995 . The rivalry ' s most famous moments , however , are centered around the significance of the teams ' meetings during the 1995 – 96 season . 1994 : Rangers Win Stanley Cup . The rivalry ' s most famous moments , however , are centered around the teams ' second encounter : the Rangers ' championship season of during the the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals . Although both teams were the top point - getters in the NHL in 1994 ( the Presidents ' Trophy - winning Rangers netting 112 and the Devils notching 106 ) , the story entering the series was the Rangers ' 6 - 0 record against New Jersey that regular season . However , all ideas of a quick New York series were soon ended after Game 1 , a 4 - 3 double overtime victory that was sealed by the Devils ' Stephane Richer . The Rangers routed the Devils 4 - 0 in Game 2 , and used a double overtime goal by Stéphane Matteau to take a 2 - 1 lead after Game 3 . After dropping Games 4 and 5 , the Rangers faced elimination against the Devils going to New Jersey for Game 6 . Prior to the game , Rangers captain Mark Messier guaranteed a victory in Game 6 at the Meadowlands ; with the Rangers down 2 - 0 to the Devils , Messier scored a hat trick to tie the series at 3 - 3 and send it back to New York for Game 7 . In Game 7 , the Devils ' Valeri Zelepukin tied the game with 7 . 7 seconds left in regulation , but thanks to another Matteau goal in double overtime the Rangers won the series and went on to win the Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Canucks , also in 7 games . Interestingly , the first 6 games were won by the team that lost that respective game in 1992 . That trend was reversed , however , when the Rangers won Game 7 in 1994 . 1995 : Devils Win Stanley Cup . The Devils would eventually recover from that crushing defeat in 1994 and win the Stanley Cup the following year , though they had to go through another of their own rivals in 1995 Eastern Conference Finals , the Philadelphia Flyers , and also in a shocking and improbable sweep of the Detroit Red Wings , making the rivalry during the 1995 – 96 season showdowns between the Stanley Cup champions of the previous two seasons . When both teams won the Stanley Cup in their respective seasons , the Stanley Cup was awarded on their side of the Hudson River ( Rangers won at Madison Square Garden in 1994 , the Devils at the Continental Airlines Arena in 1995 ) . The Devils did not have home ice advantage during their Finals . In fact , they were the first team to win the Stanley Cup without having home ice advantage in any of the four rounds of the playoffs . 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals . The third Devils - Rangers playoff series happened only three years later . The Rangers eliminated the Devils in 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals . New Jersey was limited to 5 goals in the 5 game series , including two shutout losses . 1998 to 2006 . From the start of 1998 , however , the pendulum began to swing the other way . New Jersey dominated New York during the regular season in the late 1990s and early 2000s . At one point , the Devils had an unbeaten streak against the Rangers throughout 23 regular season games going 15 - 0 - 8 ; starting on February 17 , 1997 , and ending March 31 , 2001 — an undefeated streak spanning 4 years . At the end of the 2005 – 06 season , the Devils had won 11 games straight — the second such streak of the season — and capped off the run by winning the Atlantic Division in comeback fashion against the Montreal Canadiens , a division win made all the more exciting by the fact that the Devils had been 22 points out of the lead just 3 months prior , with many thinking the team wouldn ' t make the playoffs . Meanwhile , the Rangers had the division lead for most of the latter part of the season , but fell victim to a losing skid as the season came to a close . The Devils meet the Rangers in the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarter Finals . The result was a 4 game sweep of New Jersey over their cross - river rivals for the first time ever in franchise history . 2007 - 2011 . Two years later , the teams would meet yet again in the playoffs for the 5th time , in the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . After long time Devil Scott Gomez signed with the Rangers before the 2007 – 08 season , he has been severely booed by Devils fans at the Prudential Center every time he touched the puck . Gomez scored 3 assists in Game 1 and 2 goals in Game 4 against his former team en route to a Rangers series win . In Game 3 , Ranger Sean Avery used a tactic to screen opposing goaltender Martin Brodeur . While essentially ignoring the play on the ice when his team had a two - man advantage , Avery faced Brodeur and waved his hands and stick in front of him in an attempt to distract him and block his view . Although not illegal , many NHL commentators and players described Avery ' s actions as inappropriate . The following day , the NHL issued an interpretation of the league ' s unsportsmanlike conduct rule to cover actions such as the one employed by Avery . Following the Rangers victory in Game 5 of the series during the hand - shake line , Brodeur shook the hand of every Ranger except Avery . When asked what happened after the game , Avery said " I guess Fatso ( Brodeur ) forgot to shake my hand . " During the season , there was a moment of peace in the rivalry with both captains , Rangers ' Chris Drury and Devils ' Jamie Langenbrunner winning silver medals as members the U . S . men ' s ice hockey team during the Vancouver Olympics . 2012 Eastern Conference Final " The Rematch " . The Devils – Rangers series debuted at its latest date since the Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982 during the 2011 – 12 season . For the previous 6 seasons , the teams had met at least once in October . In 2 of the first three meetings of the teams , there have been fights to start the game , which included the third game of the year , were two fights immediately broke - out after the first face - off . Also in the third game , there was a controversial call that negated a goal by the Rangers ' Derek Stepan due to alleged goaltender interference by Marian Gaborik . Some argue that Gaborik was pushed into the goalie , Brodeur , by ex - Devil Anton Volchenkov , while others argue that the forward did not make an effort to avoid the goaltender , therefore legitimizing the penalty . The Devils and Rangers met for their final contest of the season on March 19 , 2012 , at Madison Square Garden . Continuing the trend established in prior games , the game began with three simultaneous fights , and the Rangers went on to win the game , 4 – 2 . With the Devils defeating rival Philadelphia in 5 games , and the Rangers defeating Washington in 7 games , the stage had been set for a rematch of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals between the two in the Eastern Conference Finals . With the exception of Games 1 and 2 , the remainder of the series was played on the 18th anniversary of each game of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals series between the two , and the pattern of wins from Games 3 to 5 were identical to 1994 . This pattern was broken when New Jersey Devils won Game 6 , against New York Rangers 3 – 2 , in overtime on Adam Henrique ' s game - winner , securing the Devils 5th trip to the Stanley Cup Finals . However , the Devils would lost Stanley Cup Finals in six games to the Los Angeles Kings . Reaction by Fans . Fans on both sides have agreed the rivalry has become even stronger as of late , due in large part to the fact that both teams have shown much more parity towards each other . Many hockey analysts within the media have referred to them as " mirror teams " given their many similarities . Since the NHL Lockout , the two teams have met a total of 43 times ( as of March 25 , 2010 ) including postseason games . The Devils lead the series 121 - 110 - 17 - 8 . Many Rangers fans have been seen burning Devils memorabilia after Rangers victories over the Devils , and lighting their cigarettes with it , while exiting Madison Square Garden . A lot of Devils fans , meanwhile , enjoy making confetti which reads " Rangers Suck " and handing them out during games at the Continental Airlines Arena and currently at the Prudential Center after Devils victories over Rangers . The Jersey fans also have a cheer that is yelled and whistled at every game . In response to the " Let ' s Go Band " / " Potvin Sucks " chant of Rangers fans against the Islanders , the Devils fans at the Prudential Center cheer " Rangers Suck . " This chant , is heard at every Devils home game . The Rangers and Devils rivalry is popular among fans , due to the geographic proximity , which is seen as a battle between the neighboring states of New York and New Jersey . While Devils fans will occasionally attend games at Madison Square Garden in large numbers ( especially during the final two games of the 2006 series sweep ) , Rangers fans have historically showed up at both the Meadowlands and now the Prudential Center in extremely large numbers . Fans of both teams have also shown considerable hostility towards each other ' s goalies . Rangers fans have often battered Devils goalie Martin Brodeur with chants of " Marty ! Marty ! Marty ! " after goals scored on him during games between the two teams . Conversely , Devils fans will chant " Henrik ! Henrik ! Henrik ! " at Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist after the Devils score on him . This rivalry was satirized in pop - culture with the Seinfeld episode " The Face Painter " in which David Puddy , a hard - core Devils fan , paints his face red at a playoff game against the Rangers in the Garden , to the embarrassment of Jerry , Kramer , and Elaine . Recently , there have been parting shots taken by players and media at each organization through written words . In Beyond the Crease , an autobiography written by Martin Brodeur , he writes ; " I hate the Rangers , and Lou hates them to death . " . During their last playoff meet , actor / director Kevin Smith was asked to have a blog commenting on the series , which could be read on the NHL ' s official website . After Game 3 he wrote ; " No Devils fan can truly pinpoint why we hate our cross - river rivals as much as we do . Even so , Devils fans live to hate the Rangers . Sometimes , it feels like a large cross - section of those folks in the stands at the Rock ( and formerly at the Meadowlands ) aren ' t there so much to love on the Devils as they are to hate on New York . Even when the boys in blue aren ' t anywhere near the building , we ' re still seething about their very existence . You ' d think we ' d hold a special place in our hearts for the Rangers , as they gave us our first ever win back in 1982 . Granted , they don ' t roll over for us as much as Philly does ( except , y ' know - in that last game this season ) , but the Rangers ' ve been hoisted up high on the Devils ' pitchfork enough times ( the ' 06 four - zip playoffs come to mind ) to warrant at least a degree of affection right ? " The rivalry between the teams is so intense that the Rangers are the only NHL team with which the Devils have never made a trade .