Standings: Devils (26-19-3), Rangers (31-12-4)

NYR Leading Scorer: Marian Gaborik (25-14-39)
NJD Leading Scorer: Patrik Elias (18-28-46)

NYR Goaltender: Martin Biron (11 GS, 1.87 GAA, .930 SV%)
NJD Goaltender: Martin Brodeur (31 GS, 2.77 GAA, .894 SV%)

Rangers Lines (probable):

Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Brian Boyle-Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brad Richards-Brandon Prust
Mike Rupp-Artem Anisimov-John Mitchell

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Michael Del Zotto
Stu Bickel-Anton Stralman

Martin Biron gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: Mike Sauer (concussion), Jeff Woywitka (foot), Wojtek Wolski (healthy), Erik Christensen (healthy), Steve Eminger (shoulder)

Preview: The last time these two teams met in December the Rangers defeated the Devils 4-1. Since that time the Devils have struggled to find consistency in their overall game. They beat the teams they should be beating and they lose to the teams you’d expect them to lose to. Mark of a mediocre team I suppose. With that said, Rangers/Devils games are never predictable and we shouldn’t take them for granted despite their injuries & 8th place standing.

Under Deboer, the Devils still trap up the neutral zone at times, but have become much more aggressive on the puck than their previous coaches. Their penalty kill is among the league’s best, so that could play to their favor as the Rangers have been struggling this month to get consistency out of their offense.

With the dog days of the season in front of us, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some low scoring games. The Rangers are built to win in this fashion and tonight would be a good way to set the tone.

Crazy Thought: Zach Parise admits to John Giannone that he’s bored of living in Hoboken and is ready to move to Manhattan. Let the foreshadowing begin!

Opponent’s Blog: Pucks And Pitchforks

Game time is 7:00pm on MSG2 (listings), AM1050, and XM92.

Share: 

More About: