There's been some debate as to whether the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Peguins are actual rivals. I would honestly have to say yes, considering the two teams always fight for the top spot in the Atlantic Division and even though the Devils swept the 2009-2010 season series with the Penguins, 6-0-0. There will be some interesting division showdowns along the road this year for these two teams.
Some players recently gave their opinions as to whether or not the Devils and Pens can be considered true rivals.
Jamie Langenbrunner of the Devils commented: "I think you need to have a playoff series against each other to build a rivalry. In the regular season, you develop a certain amount of battle. The playoffs magnify that a lot. You're seeing each other, 6-7 nights in a row, and you get that you're-ending-someone's-season mentality. You both have to be competitive and you're battling a team for the ultimate goal: a championship."
Langenbrunner supplies good reasoning there. However, a couple of playoff matchups is the only thing missing from the Penguins/Devils rivalry. In my opinion, playoff series are huge in rivalries, but ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Michael DeSantis
Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils Rivalry Debate: Are We Really Rivals?
September 27th, 2010 by Michael DeSantis Leave a reply »
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