NY Islanders Forward Matt Martin tells 'Boomer & Gio' he won't be rooting for the NY Rangers

The rivalry between the NY Islanders and the NY Rangers takes no days off and sometimes splits families right down the middle.

Matt Martin, who's been part of the Islanders organization for 13 of the 15 seasons he's played in the NHL, is the son-in-law of former NFL quarterback and host of The Morning Show With Boomer & Gio, Boomer Esiason.

For those unfamiliar with Boomer, he's a Rangers season ticket holder and life-long fan, unwilling to change his allegiance to the Islanders despite his son-in-law being a longtime member of the organization.

This morning on the Boomer & Gio show, Boomer brought in a bottle of wine called 'Five Bands,' which he says was gifted to him by Martin last night after Martin had cooked dinner for the family.

Yesterday on the show, The Stanley Cup was in the WFAN studio, and Boomer, being the hockey fan he is, refused to touch the cup, sticking to the adage that you don't touch the cup until you've won it.

A caller named Joe from Staten Island, called into the show today, urging Esiason to get rid of the bottle, believing it was Martin's way of jinxing Boomer and the Rangers. The Rangers, who have four Stanley Cup rings, are on a quest for their fifth, and Joe believes the 'Five Bands' is Martin's way of having Boomer touch the cup without actually touching it.

"I feel like there was a genuineness," Esiason said. "I just felt like there was no ulterior motive... I just felt like Matt is genuinely pulling for the Rangers."

Later in the show, Martin called his father-in-law to clear the air while on the air regarding what had transpired at dinner the night before. He claimed that he never gave the bottle of wine to Boomer and saw the bottle on the show when he turned on the TV this morning. He'd then tell Boomer's partner Greg Gianotti he could take the bottle of wine home with him.

Gianotti decided to jump straight to the point and ask Martin if he'd be rooting for the Rangers against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I am not rooting for anybody, let alone the New York Rangers," Martin replied. "Listen, I want happiness for the people I care about, the people I love, but this is certainly not one that I can get behind and root for the best for Boomer in this situation. I'm too prideful for that."

Boomer, who sometimes enjoys stirring the pot, had one final question for Martin, asking if he'd accept a phone call from Ranger GM Chris Drury on July 1st, the first day of free agency.

"Oh here we go. No, I'm hanging up the phone," Martin said.

Music to the Islanders' fans ears!