Game 30; Saturday night hockey as the Rangers host the Devils!
New Jersey Devils (11-13-6) @ New York Rangers (15-14-0)
The Rangers open their 9-game homestand tonight when they host the New Jersey Devils at the Garden. The Rangers are coming off from 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres while the Devils lost 3-1 to the Detroit Red Wings yesterday. Teams have already met twice this season and the Devils have won both meetings. Tonight’s game is also the last meeting between the teams until they will meet at Yankee Stadium on January 26th. Rick Nash has played very well since his return to the line-up and the Rangers hope he can continue scoring tonight. After tonight’s game, the Rangers will host the Washington Capitals tomorrow night.
NJD:
The Devils are currently at the 6th place in the Metropolitan Division but they are just 2 points behind the 3rd place Washington Capitals. Tonight the Devils are looking for their first win in December and overall they have had slight problems lately. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 and 6-8-3 on the road. The fact is that their head coach Pete DeBoer always seems to get the best out of his players when they play vs. the Rangers. The Garden crowd is waiting for another Lundqvist-Brodeur match-up and that’s more than possible as Cory Schneider played yesterday in 3-1 loss.
NYR:
Henrik Lundqvist showed in the game against the Sabres, why he is worth of every single penny. He was sharp in the first two periods and brilliant in the third where he stopped two breakaways and made an unbelievable save on Brad Richards‘ deflection. Brad Richards also had a great night, he scored a power play goal to make it 2-0 and he got the primary assist on Mats Zuccarello’s goal. Rick Nash scored a typical goal for him and overall he has been playing well with Kreider and Stepan.
With one of their biggest rivals at the house, just two points ahead of them in the standings and Saturday night – it doesn’t get much better than this. The problem for the Rangers have been playing two good games in the row, tonight they have a chance to get another winning streak going.
The Rangers made AHL trade yesterday as they sent Brandon Mashinter to Chicago in exchange for forward Kyle Beach. 23-year-old Beach hasn’t played a single game in the NHL but has played 169 games in the AHL. The Rangers also called-up JT Miller from the Hartford and he will probably be in the line-up tonight.
Let’s Go Rangers!
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Game 18; The Rangers trying to continue their streak against the Devils!
New Jersey Devils (5-7-5) @ New York Rangers (9-8-0)
The Rangers are back in the action tonight when they host one of their biggest rival New Jersey Devils at the Garden. This is the second meeting of the season and the Rangers would like to have the first one back – they were beaten 4-0 by the Devils at the Prudential Center in mid-October. Tonight the Rangers are looking for their fourth win in-a-row but the Devils will make sure that the boys will have a busy night ahead of them. Martin Brodeur will be the starting goaltender for the Devils so there is at least one more clash between Henrik Lundqvist and Marty at MSG. After tonight’s game, the Rangers will have a few days off before they will face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday evening.
NJD:
After a miserable start to the season, the Devils have really improved their game lately. They are 5-3-2 in their last 10 and their overall game has been better. In the last game against the Predators they scored 5 goals but the scoring has been their biggest problem throughout the season. Best part of their offense this year? Believe it or not, it’s 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr along with his country mates Marek Zidlicky and Patrik Elias. They are the Top-3 in the Devils scoring and especially Jagr has shown that it isn’t about his speed, it’s about his ability to be in the right place at the right time. The Devils will host the Kings and the Penguins before they head up to three game road trip on West Coast.
NYR:
It wasn’t pretty but the Rangers got the job done when they beat the Panthers 4-3 and that’s the most important thing. It is hard to mentally prepared to every game in the 82-game season but the teams who can win those “tough ones”, will usually be at the top of the standings. The Rangers got the first goal (a thing of beauty by Miller!) but then they found themselves chasing in the second period. Derek Dorsett’s goal tied it, Brad Richards’s gave them a lead in the third and Mats Zuccarello’s PP goal was the eventual game winner.
The Rangers are now 7-3-0 in their last 10 and the things are finally starting to get better for them. Alain Vigneault has found good chemistry with his lines and especially line with Kreider, Stepan and Zuccarello has played very well over the last few games. Brad Richards scored his first goal in the last nine games but he’s the team leader in points (15)
Henrik Lundqvist will get his second consecutive start and he has spectacular career numbers against the Devils and especially when he’s facing Martin Brodeur in the other net.
Let’s Go Rangers!
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Game 45; Hudson River Rivalry – Round 3 at the Garden!
New Jersey Devils (17-17-10) @ New York Rangers (23-17-4)
The Rangers conclude their busy week this afternoon as they host the Devils at the Garden. As the regular season winds down with only 4 games left, this is the first meeting of season between the Rangers and the Devils at the MSG. The Devils won’t make the playoffs this year but they’re ready to spoil the playoff hopes for the Rangers. The Devils beat the Panthers 6-2 yesterday while the Rangers are coming off from great win over the Sabres. Hudson River Rivalry continues!
NJD:
The Devils lost Ilya Kovalchuk and eventually after that they lost 10 games in the row. Last night they got him back and continued winning when they beat the Panthers 6-2. After long playoff run last year, this season has been tough for the Devils. They started the season very well but injuries and offensive struggles made them pay. For example, last week they outshooted the Sens and the Maple Leafs 65 to 24 but lost both games 0-2. Against the Rangers, we can expect almost anything from this team. I wouldn’t be surprised if guys like David Clarkson and Ryan Carter are trying to get something going on with Clowe/Asham.
NYR:
The Rangers have scored 14 goals in the last two games. Yeah, you read it right. Game against the Sabres was pivotal but surely nobody expected this outcome. After 898 games in the league, Brad Richards finally got his 1st NHL hat-trick. In addition, Carl Hagelin, Rick Nash, Anton Stralman, Ryan Clowe and Ryan Callahan scored for the Rangers. The win eliminated the Sabres and the Flyers from the playoffs.
With 4 games left almost anything can still happen. The Rangers are 3 points behind 6th place Islanders and 2 points behind the 7th place Sens. Lundqvist will continue playing and the line-up remains the same. The main goal for the Rangers is get in to the playoffs and after that they can worry about the seeding. They can’t clinch the playoff spot today but if they do win – that’s a huge step towards the playoffs.
Key players and stats:
Good thing for the Rangers is that Brad Richards is getting the points. He has 10 goals in the season with 4 goals in the last two games. Although the Rangers gave up 4 goals against the Sabres, Henrik Lundqvist is playing very well. If he can continue playing like this, the Rangers can beat any team in the league. For the Devils, Martin Brodeur usually plays his best games against the Rangers. Although their overall record is pretty weak, they have guys who can score goals (Belive it or not!) David Clarkson has 14 goals in the season while Patrik Elias has 13. This is the third of four meetings this season. Teams will close-up their regular seasons on April 27th at the Madison Square Garden.
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
Game 9; The Rangers presents some new faces at the Rock
New York Rangers (4-4-0) @ New Jersey Devils (4-1-3)
255 days ago Adam Henrique’s OT goal ended the Rangers long playoff run. Now this heated rivalry starts all over again in the Prudential Center. These teams don’t hesitate to hit hard or drop the gloves – they’re ready to the battle again! Years go by but some things never change. Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist will face each others again and usually we’ve seen legendary battles between those two. Tight your seat belts – Hudson River rivalry continues tonight!
NJD:
Zach Parise is gone and they had some trouble bringing Ilya Kovalchuk back from KHL. But all in all the Devils have had a satisfying start for the season. With going 4-1-3 the Devils are currently at the 5th place in the Eastern and 2nd in the Atlantic Division. On Sunday night the Devils beat the Islanders 3-0. David Clarkson has five goals and four assists in eight games while Kovalchuk has two goals and three assists.
NYR:
The Rangers did get their first road win of the season in Tampa but they also changed their line-up after it. They send Mike Rupp to Minnesota for Darrel Powe and Nick Palmieri. Powe will join the Rangers while Palmieri will join the Connecticut Whale. Personally I wanna thank Mike Rupp for his time in the Rangers – never going to forget that “Jagr-salute” ! Powe had 91 blocked shots a year ago and he’s strong on the penalty kill. Palmieri is only 23 years old and he has 25 points in 87 NHL games. Powe is expected to be in the line-up against the Devils.
That wasn’t enough for the Rangers. They also called up JT Miller and Brandon Mashinter from the Connecticut Whale while Benn Ferriero was sent down. Mashinter has played 13 NHL games while Miller is expected to make his NHL debut against the Devils.
Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan scored their first goals of the season in 3-2 victory over the Lightning. With Taylor Pyatt, that line really got their game together. They moved the puck well, battled hard in the corners and eventually they scored two goals. No words about Nash’s goal – absolute thing of beauty. Martin Biron had a solid game with 30 saves.
Key players and stats:
Kovalchuk vs. Nash, Lundqvist vs. Brodeur or Elias vs. Richards – you name it. This rivalry is all about great match-ups. If history repeats itself, there will be more than one or two scrums. Darrol Powe, JT Miller and Brandon Mashinter will play their first games as a New York Rangers. This is the first of four meetings this season. Second meeting will be at the Prudential Center on Mar. 19. The Devils won’t be at the Garden until Apr. 21 and in the regular-season finale Apr. 27.
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
True Blue I Am a Ranger 