Right... buy why is that? In NCAA sports, there's long-established rivalries, and are almost a way of life for a lot of fans. I mean hell, I'm nowhere near as big a fan of Michigan as others in my circle of friends, but do we all hate OSU? You betcha!
Now... if Michigan faced OSU every other year instead, or every three years, all because the NCAA decided teams in every conference should face teams in every other conference more often? The impact of this rivalry will fall by the wayside too. A date fans and players alike circle on their calendars will become just another gameday with no emotional impact and very little meaning elsewise.
That's why NCAA rivalries haven't really lost its luster. As some schools decide to leave one conference for others, perhaps those waters will get muddied a bit as well. But unlike the pro leagues, I think the NCAA recognizes the rivalries and will do their best to maintain them.
The Rangers have decent rivalries with all of their divisional opponents except for Columbus. This is what their schedule is like against the division this year.
-Flyers: only 3 games, including a 2.5 month gap.
-Capitals: only 3 games, including 2 gaps over 2 months long.
-Islanders: 3 month gap between 1st game and 2nd game.
-Devils: no games for almost the first 3 months of the season (2m23d). Nearly 3 months between 3rd game and 4th game.
-Penguins: 2 month gap between games 2 and 3.
-Hurricanes: 2.5 month gap between games 3 and 4.
-Blue Jackets: Don't play until over 3 months into the season.
It's impossible to build history over the course of a season in that schedule.