Rangers and the N.H.L. Playoffs Made Easy Rangers fans - some die-hard, some more ephemeral - celebrating at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have been mercifully eliminated from the N.B.A. playoffs. The Yankees have not yet reached the trading-minor-leaguers-for-Joey-Votto deadline. Football is months away, and Tim Tebow is working out with the Jets" punting unit. It is time, in other words, for casual fans to jump on the Rangers" bandwagon. There is nothing wrong with a little fair-weather fandom. The 18,200 hard-core Rangers fans on earth, all of whom own season tickets and every one of whom was at Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Devils on Monday night, will grudgingly accept a few hundred thousand temporary recruits into their ranks, providing that they demonstrate some minimal understanding of what is happening on the ice. This primer, written by someone who spent decades leaping on and off the Philadelphia Flyers" bandwagon in late April (the knee will be fine in a few days, thanks for asking), will help you blend in among hockey die-hards. Start by washing your brand-new Marian Gaborik sweater a few times so it looks as if you bought it in 2010. Then use the following factoids to guide you through conversations with folks who were glued to their seats when the Rangers were skating around Sweden in October. KNOW YOUR OPPONENT The Devils began their existence as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974. Goaltender Martin Brodeur joined the team as a toddler early in the season. The Scouts became the Colorado Rockies in 1976, then moved to New Jersey in 1982 when ethnographers found a pocket of fanatical hockey fans in Essex County with no allegiance to the Rangers, the Islanders or the Flyers. These people also spoke Basque. They embraced the Devils, and the team rewarded them with three Stanley Cups. Just to clear up any confusion, the Devils are not moving to Brooklyn next season. You are thinking of the Nets, who are owned in part by Jay-Z. The Devils are owned in part by Puddy from "Seinfeld." The Devils have no plans to move from Newark, but if a five-bedroom house with granite countertops opens up in Saddle River, just try to stop them. The current Devils have several veterans from their Stanley Cup glory years on the roster. Brodeur actually joined the team in 1991. Forwards Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora came aboard in 1995, Sykora returning this season after stints with the Anaheim Ducks, the Rangers, the Edmonton Oilers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and something called the Minnesota Wild, which is probably a Twisted Sister cover band. The veterans are supported by the 22-year-old center Adam Henrique, who scored the winning second-overtime goal in Game 7 of the series against the Florida Panthers and is the only player on the roster who can identify Nicki Minaj. KNOW THE RECENT HISTORY The Devils and the Rangers needed Game 7 victories to get past the first round of the playoffs on April 26, the first night of the N.F.L. draft. So if you were watching Roger Goodell snuggle with hulking men in formal wear on the Radio City Music Hall stage, then you (like me) missed some breathtaking athletic contests. The Rangers then needed seven games and two overtime victories to overcome the Washington Capitals. The Devils made short work of the Flyers. The Rangers and the Flyers like to torture their fans in very different ways. Devils fans know their fans traveled to Newark to watch them and have therefore suffered enough. Hockey is not as violent as it used to be. Those of us who were raised on "Slap Shot" and the Broad Street Bullies may be surprised to learn that the N.H.L. enacted several rule changes in the past few seasons to protect players against concussions. Two rule additions for 2011-12 allowed referees to call a two-minute minor for just about any check to the head and a boarding penalty on anyone who pushes a defenseless player into the boards. These revisions continue the trend toward safety that started with the Spiked Gauntlet Prohibition of 1977. These new rules make the game safer, but of course, hockey remains the only sport in which a full-on fistfight is an accepted part of the game. The rules for striking an opponent's skull repeatedly with your fist have not changed for decades. That brings us to our next point.