The Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers have a lot of work ahead of them with 35 games remaining in the last two and a half months on the schedule. The team's goal is not only make the playoffs, but to gain home ice advantage with a top four spot in the conference. At number one right now, they are in ideal position to do just that moving forward, but as we know, games become increasingly more difficult to win after the All-Star break as the desperation and intensity levels take a dramatic climb. It's going to be to be tough, but these rampant Rangers are ready for the challenge.
Tonight's meeting with the Devils will only be the second of the season between the cross-river rivals, as the Rangers took the first one, 4-1, back on December 20. Having only played the Devils once in the first half of the year, the Blueshirts will be seeing them often from this point on with five games (including tonight's) still to play. Because of such a large gap between tilts, the rivalry has fizzled down a bit, but is fully expected to regain its animosity here in the second half.
Eleven points separate the Rangers and Devils in the standings, as New Jersey currently sits eighth in the East with a 26-19-3 record. The Devils have been haunted with injuries all season long, and right now may be the peak of their man-games lost. In the midst of a six-game homestand in which they've went 1-2-1 thus far, they've managed to lose Adam Henrique and Adam Larsson, in addition to the already injured Travis Zajac. Those are three big slots to fill in the lineup for GM Lou Lamoriello.
Patrik Elias has been one of the few consistent offensive performers for the Devils as of late, registering five points on the homestand so far and 12 over the last nine games. With Zajac out of the lineup, Elias takes on more responsibility of his own. He's a player the Rangers need to give little time and space with the puck tonight, because he has a history of making things happen against New York. In goal for the Devils this evening will be Marty Brodeur, who hasn't exactly had a spectacular season so far. To me, it looks like age is catching up with him considering he's been played so much in recent years.
The Rangers, on the other hand, will be going with the same lineup they did in their final game before the break against the Winnipeg Jets. However, Marty Biron will be getting the start between the pipes for the Blueshirts. My guess is that Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal against both the Sabres and Flyers before the week's end, so it's best Biron gets some time in now. Plus, Lundqvist is coming off an exhausting weekend having been a part of the All-Star festivities in Ottawa, so the extra rest won't hurt.
Maybe if the Devils would've taken that approach with Marty over the years he wouldn’t' be so burnt out, but that's an argument for another time.
It's crucial that the Rangers maintain their level of intensity through the last few months of the season here. Hard work and resiliency have powered them to the top of the Eastern Conference, and they're going to need the same factors to kick in to keep that spot. Becoming comfortable with that position is not acceptable, and I'm confident that the head coach will not allow it to be.
The Rangers are 9-2-0 against division rivals this season and have two more division games on the schedule against the Devs and Flyers over the next few days. I'm sure they wouldn't mind extending that to 11-2-0 by the week's end.
New York Rangers Lineup
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