Washington Capitals Five Biggest Rivals

#3: Washington Capitals Vs. New York Rangers

Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Is there anything more fun for a DC/Baltimore area sports fan than irrationally hating everything about New York? They’re loud! They’re boisterous! They’re (usually) good! And the worst part of it all? THEY KNOW IT. The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers rivalry is one that has been strengthened as of late thanks to recent playoff match ups.

The Caps Rangers rivalry goes all the way back to the days of the Patrick Division. Remember in 1986 when the Caps beat the Islanders? The Rangers crashed the Caps party the very next round, beating them 4-2. From that moment on, the Caps and Rangers were enemies.

The Capitals gained momentum in the rivalry by beating the Rags in the playoffs in 1990 and 1991. The Rangers would exact revenge by beating the Caps in 1994 and going on to win the Stanley Cup. As if Rangers fans weren’t awful enough, giving them a reason to be even more boisterous and arrogant than usual made Caps fans steaming mad.

Just like the Islanders rivalry, the Caps-Rangers rivalry weakened. Sadly the NHL made a really bad decision by separating the Caps and Rangers by putting the Caps in the Southeast Division instead of letting the Caps, Rangers, and Islanders participate in a hate fest in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers stinking and signing lots of really old players thinking they were still good probably had something to do with that too.

The rivalry has been strengthened as of late. Starting in 2009, the Caps and Rangers have faced each other in four playoff series. The Caps have won two series and the Rangers have won two series. Three of those four series went to seven games. The rivalry is back and that makes me so happy. Not that I needed another excuse to direct an unhealthy level of hate towards New York.

If that doesn’t make you hate the Rangers, let me remind you this is their goal song. It is the absolute worst thing ever and hearing it is enough to drive most Caps fans insane. Worst, Rangers fans have no idea how to sing/yell/scream on key or in unison, so the “WHOOAAAAA” part is especially horrible. The worst part is Martin St. Louis (an old person who has actually played well for the Rangers) will likely be celebrating to it for the rest of the season.

Next: The City of Brotherly Hate