24 replies to this topic

[**LS**]

I'm looking for everyone's opinion on the 6 best in-division NHL rivals we have today. So essentially, the best two team rival in the Atlantic, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Central, the Northwest and the Pacific divisions.

I will be using this info to prepare a new ad campaign for this site.

[Tashimojo]

Northwest rivalry is easily the Flames and Oilers.

[Vader]

Rangers/Devils (or maybe Rangers/Islanders) for the Atlantic.

Chicago/Detroit in the Central

[chicken wing]

Ducks and Kings in the Pacific.

[CoyoteQ]

Philadelphia/Pittsburgh
Toronto/Montreal
Tampa Bay/Florida
Nashville/Detroit
Edmonton/Calgary
Phoenix/L.A.

[Xcal97]

Current or historical?

[Erik C.]

Current or historical?

Being that it's for an ad campaign, I would say current.

[Avsfreak18]

Northwest rivalry is easily the Flames and Oilers.

I second that.

[thecoffeecake]

Atlantic is easily Devils-Rangers. It's not one of those cute little manufactured rivalries that have become oh so common in North American sports. On ice and off ice, these franchises hate each other. I know Lou despises them. Brawls are common place. I think two of the regular season games opened with multiple fights. You had the Rupp-Brodeur incident, followed by the DeBoer-Tortorella incident, followed by the "Rangers suck" chant that was the loudest I remember hearing Prudential Center ever, game 4 this year. You had the Avery-Brodeur stuff a couple years back and the Avery Rule. The 90's were filled with crazy playoff series and brawls. The franchises have never made a trade. Rangers fans and Devils fans live next door to each other in just about every neighborhood in North/Central Jersey and New York. I legitimately hate the Rangers organization. They actually make me sick to my stomach. The Islanders haven't been relevant enough recently, and the Flyers-Penguins is picking up speed, but it's nothing like this. I live in North Philly, and I know Flyers fans hate the Penguins more than the Rangers these days. I don't know if that whole paragraph was wanted or necessary in this thread.

I can't speak on the rest of the league. I don't feel comfortable speaking on behalf of other fans I either don't have a lot of interaction with or know much about the franchises. As a casual observer, I feel like I know what teams tend to be rivals, but the fans of those organizations have the final say, and my input wouldn't really be valuable. Too many people are misled by various commentators or analysts who make bold and often ill informed statements about rivalries, and networks really try to force a lot of this to boost ratings. I'd like to say Calgary-Edmonton is a good one, and I always like watching those games when I can, but I don't know how much those fans truly dislike each other, or if the "Battle of Alberta"" is just a good marketing scheme.

This point has been edited by thecoffeecake: 10 January 2013 - 10:09 PM

[SgtFrenchy]

Northeast, Boston and Montreal. Hands down the best, and oldest rivalry in the NHL.

[Vader]

Northeast, Boston and Montreal. Hands down the best, and oldest rivalry in the NHL.

This.

[Erik C.]

Ah, I might as well weigh in.

A: Team preference notwithstanding, yeah, Devils-Rangers stands out more than any other combo right now
NE: Habs-Bruins, Habs-Leafs a close second
S: Bolts-Panthers, I'm just not feeling it with any other combo
C: Wings-Hawks
NW: Oilers-Flames
P: Freeway Series (Kings-Ducks), with the other two combos in the Battle of California also coming in close behind

This point has been edited by Erik C.: 10 January 2013 - 10:33 PM

[Mishey22]

As someone that lives it, I'd say there is much more hate between the Lightning and the Capitals than the Lightning and the Panthers.

[**LS**]

Great stuff guys.

Now for the next part of this project...

Please post me any pictures you can find of NHL fans wearing face paint in support of their favorite teams.

[SgtFrenchy]

And who knew they sold this.

[SgtFrenchy]

[CoyoteQ]

The most beautiful Red Wings fan in the world. She was so sweet. Forbidden friut is always the sweetest.

[CoyoteQ]

[kmart890]

A photo of yours truly.





Also, not sure if it matters anymore, but I agree with Erik as far as NHL rivalries.

[CoyoteQ]

Love the scowl Kmart!