Don’t sleep on this Blue Jackets-Rangers rivalry.
I know, I know…you hate the Penguins with every fiber in your being. They’re an easy team to hate. And regardless of what they tell you (or want you to think), they loathe the Blue Jackets right back. One of the most adorable things is watching their fans try to mask their hatred of the Blue Jackets, as if it’s beneath them.
But there’s some serious angst and “fuck you” between the Blue Jackets and Rangers. A few years ago, the story when these two teams met surrounded the familiar faces who had traded places on both sides. John Moore, Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard, Rick Nash, and so on…they brought their best when the Blue Jackets were on the schedule, and the Blue Jackets’ former Rangers wanted to stick it to their old team.
Nowadays, though, it’s just a good old-fashioned division rivalry.
The Rangers play a fast, counterattacking game. The Blue Jackets are fast, as well, but a bit more calculated offensively. When Columbus is on its game, the Rangers get frustrated. When the Blue Jackets fall into the Rangers’ game, it’s a break-neck paced track meet that ends 5-4 or something crazy. They’ve played a few of those games over the years, including a 6-4 shootout just after the All-Star break last year.
Nash once shoved Sergei Bobrovsky after a seemingly innocuous sequence after the whistle.
Matt Calvert had enough of Nash getting in the goaltender’s crease, so he dropped the gloves with the former Blue Jackets captain.
The drama is real with these teams. The anger is real. And because the Blue Jackets have a built-in, geographic rivalry with the team they’ve met in the playoffs twice in the last four years, this Rangers series gets lost in the shuffle sometimes. But whenever they’re on the schedule, you can bet the Blue Jackets are ready to face these guys.
THE UNDENIABLE HISTORY
What really got this kick-started was the Nash trade in July 2012.
Brandon Dubinsky was far more outspoken about the trade than Artem Anisimov, but both guys were intensely motivated whenever they played the Rangers. Dubinsky took it personal; he played some of his best games early in his Blue Jackets career against his old club, and it was a joy to watch. Anisimov doesn’t play the same style of game, but he got a few goals past King Henrik along the way.
That was the first step toward establishing a story or a common thread between the two clubs. Then, March 2013 happened.
The Blue Jackets, much to everyone’s surprise (including my own), were in the thick of the playoff race late in the lockout-shortened season. [Fun side note: we were told to refer to that season as the 2012-13 season, even though the 48-game schedule began in January 2013. I guess we wanted to forget about that lockout thing]
Bobrovsky played a starring role in the surprise run, as did Ryan Johansen, but first-year GM Jarmo Kekalainen stepped up to the plate big-time at the trade deadline. He swapped three Blue Jackets regulars — Brassard, Dorsett and Moore — in exchange for Marian Gaborik, who was thought to provide an instant offensive threat on a team that had a fighting chance to qualify for the postseason. It didn’t happen, but Gaborik was under contract for another year and Brassard came into his own in New York. He was ready to face the Blue Jackets and, safe to say, was fan of realignment that brought Columbus into the Metropolitan Division.
Nash still gets booed in Nationwide Arena, but not like that first year after the trade. It’s going to be a little awkward if he ends up coming home next summer, but knowing the fine people of this city, they’re a forgiving bunch.
Last season provided the last dramatic moment in this rivalry.
Matt Calvert, who took the brunt of a Nick Holden (another former Blue Jacket) slap shot to the forehead, returned bandaged in the third period and scored the game-winning shorthanded goal. It would’ve been tough to draw up a better ending to that game, and the crowd’s reaction when Calvert appeared back on the bench was something I won’t soon forget.
OK, SOME STAR WARS
In my Star Wars segment yesterday, I foolishly neglected Catalyst by James Luceno as one of the new canon’s best stories. I loved Rogue One — it’s probably a top-four Star Wars movie in my mind — but I was equally entertained reading about the Erso family’s story and how they become intertwined with Orson Krennic and the Empire.
Galen is a complicated guy and Krennic is even more manipulative than we know him in the movie, so if you liked Rogue One, I can’t recommend Catalyst enough. It’s excellent.
YOU SHOULD BE READING
- It's time for the Blue Jackets' top players to break loose.
- Get used to Calvert-Dubinsky-Anderson annoying opponents.
- Sergei Bobrovsky's been kicking serious ass lately.
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