EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette is no stranger to his side’s rivalry with the New York Islanders. It’s just that he’s most familiar with it from the other side.
The 59-year-old bench boss got his NHL start with the Islanders 23 years ago, coaching them for two seasons from 2001-2003, going 77-62-19 while leading them to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. He went 4-4-2 in 10 games against the Rangers — a team he had previous connections with — during that stretch.
Now, his first time meeting the Islanders in charge of the Blueshirts comes at the 2024 Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium.
“I feel like I’ve been here a couple of times,” Laviolette said on Sunday afternoon. “As a player for one, a coach on the other side, a coach now here. The rivalry is pretty awesome. It’s in New York. It’s a long-standing rivalry where two teams play hard against each other and I would expect it to be the same today. There’s some tradition here in regard to that rivalry.”
Laviolette, a defenseman, played 12 NHL games with the Rangers during the 1988-89 season with two of them coming against the Islanders. In fact, his NHL debut as a player came in the New York rivalry.
“I remember it from the first game that I played as a Ranger,” Laviolette said. “I didn’t play many, but I did play against the Islanders and it was fantastic.”
This venue provides a bit more juice to his reintroduction to the rivalry. This is the first time this season that the two New York clubs are playing each other in what is Laviolette’s first year as Rangers head coach.
“There’s no way you won’t walk in and be caught off guard for a second at what’s going on,” Laviolette said. “But I typically find that when the puck drops, it just becomes business again and it becomes a hockey game.”
