In the immortal words of William Wallace: "Are you ready for a war!?"

In the immortal words of William Wallace: “Are you ready for a war!?”

There are still 36 games left in the 2015-2016 regular season, but thanks to the new playoff format, it’s not too difficult to forecast some playoff matchups.

The Washington Capitals hold an 18-point lead for the Metro Division crown and would all but have to go on a three-week team vacation to the Maldives to give any of their rivals a chance at catching them. Behind them, just a point separates the the Rangers and Islanders as the current No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. The two clubs are likely to jockey back and forth for position down the stretch, but it seems like fate that they will clash in the opening round of the 2016 postseason.

For all the despair surrounding the Rangers, they are still a significantly better team than any of the Devils, Penguins, Flyers or Hurricanes, who have clustered to within seven points of the Blueshirts. Those foes may keep things interesting the rest of the way, but each club has massive problems of its own and will have trouble keeping pace.

For frustrating though the results may be, the Rangers are slowly coming around. Since the December 22 overtime victory over Anaheim, the Rangers have gone toe to toe with some of the league’s best and secured impressive victories over the Lightning, Stars and Bruins. They’ve barely played .500 hockey, but both the eye test and #fancystats indicate marked improvement.

The biggest key is of course Henrik Lundqvist, who suffered through a brutal December but is back to making jaw-dropping saves with regularity. In addition to The King, several other key Blueshirts have begun to find their game, including: Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Derek Stepan, and even Chris Kreider. The team still has a couple two-ton anchors holding it back, but the improvement that will come from other players once again pulling their weight will help to mitigate those problems.

As for the matchup itself, it’s only fitting that New York’s hockey team introduces its old rival to the big city with a playoff war – gasoline on the fire of this classic rivalry that Commissioner Gary Bettman could only dream of.

The Rangers have fallen to the Islanders in Brooklyn in both of their tilts so far this season, a 2-1 shootout loss on December 2 just as New York’s swoon was beginning, and a 3-1 loss on Thursday. For 40 minutes in the most recent bout, the Rangers were the better team in a spirited affair, but as has become the norm of late, brain-dead mistakes cost them a victory.

Despite the Blueshirts’ recent struggles, you still have to feel decent about their chances against their new neighbors in a best-of-seven series. New York maintains the clear edge in goal and has significantly more experience – the Islanders have won just six playoff games since the lockout, compared to the Rangers’ 54.

This showdown would likely go the distance and be decided in a classic Game Seven, but the Battle for New York could be a whole lot of fun.

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