The long history between the New York Rangers and Islanders has had its ups and downs for both teams. There is no science to it. It a cycle with the pendulum swinging in each team’s favor every few years.
Except for Nick Fotiu, these players are not New York natives. They don’t have the investment in history or past records that the fans do. I would venture to say that if you asked anyone on the current Ranger roster about the 1979 playoffs, they wouldn’t have any idea about what happened. I doubt a current Islander was giddy when Ken Morrow scored his OT goal to eliminate the Rangers in 1984.