The NHL season is officially underway and all three of the local New York City sports teams share the same goal of making it to the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup.

New Jersey Devils

Last year, the Devils did not make it to the playoffs and had a disappointing end to their season. The Devils finished 7th in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-46-9 record. There is a bit of optimism in the locker room that this year will be better with a core of players who are no longer rookies and are ready to step it up this season.

The front office had some substantial off-season additions that will make a strong impact on the team. Those included Erik Haula, Ondrej Palat, & Vitek Vanecek. These new players are going to bring new vibes to the team and be the veterans in the room to support the rookies and younger players.

Mr. Fleissner shared his thoughts on what this season will look like for the Devils, “I expect moderate improvement to make it at least look like they are playing hockey.” While he does not sound very optimistic, there is some hope there that the season will be better than last.

The Devils opened their season on Thursday, October 13th, and lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 2-5.

New York Rangers

The Rangers had a very successful season last year in which they had a 52-24-6 regular season record and a deep playoff run. They made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals when they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games.

The Rangers are finally out of their rebuild and there is a new sense of optimism that they are no longer the underdogs in the league and have the potential to be great. Igor Shesterkin has proven to be one of the best goalies in the league and there are many players on the team in the prime of their careers. Than Rangers are looking to come back after their playoff exit last year and are looking to win the Stanley Cup.

The Rangers opened their season on Tuesday, October 11th when they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1.

New York Islanders

Last season, the Islanders had a disappointing end to their season when they fell just short of the playoffs. The Islanders finished with a final record of 37-35-10, but they will need to do better than that this year to make the playoffs. They have a strong core led by Mathew Barzal but they are going to need more than that to improve on the season they had last year.

The Islanders are lucky to have two strong goalies in Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov who are going to be crucial in their success this season. The Islanders did not make many off-season additions so they will be relying on last year’s group to lead the team to a playoff run.

The Islanders opened their season on Thursday, October 13th when they lost to the Florida Panthers 1-3.

Senior Josh Shpungin shared his thoughts on this season for NYC metro teams, “I believe the New York Rangers will be the best team in the NY metro area. The Rangers are coming off a great season where they fell just short and I believe now that everyone has a playoff run under their belt they can take a deep run into the playoffs. The Rangers have a great young core with experienced veterans to balance the roster. The Devils have made much improvement to their young skilled roster but I don’t think they have what it takes to make a deep run at the end of the season. The Islanders are an experienced team who will be on the verge of a playoff berth. ”

This NHL season is sure to be a good one and there are many possible teams who will be lifting the cup in June.