In 1975, the Islanders made their first trip to the NHL playoffs, facing the heavily favored Rangers in a best-of-three first-round series.
The teams met in the playoffs every year from 1981 to 1984; the Islanders won each series by margins of 4-0, 4-2, 4-2 and 3-2 en route to 4 finals and 3 Stanley Cups (in addition to their win to make it 4 championships and 5 finals in a row).