from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Whenever there is a first time ever, even if the relevant time frame consists of 37 years and 36 NHL seasons, it is worthy of notice. Slap Shots has noticed this marks the first time since the Rockies came east to settle in New Jersey in 1982-83 that the Devils and Rangers are both out of the playoffs the same year.

The incendiary rivalry that produced perhaps the greatest conference final/semifinal in Stanley Cup history — the epochal 1994 series stands for all time with 1979 Canadiens-Bruins, 1996 Avalanche-Red Wings and 2014 Kings-Blackhawks — has been downgraded to a pillow fight.

Enmity has become ennui. What not so long ago would have been unthinkable is immutable reality. The Devils are on their way to their sixth miss the past seven years while the Rangers will be on the outside of the playoff one-way window that’s a funhouse mirror on the other side for the second straight time.

more plus items like this (NYR related),

Nobody knows why No. 3 wore No. 4, or why No. 4 wore No. 2 or, for that matter, why No. 9 wore No. 9, or why No. 17 wore No. 17.

So in this interactive world, a plea: Help.