2023 Playoffs: First Round, Game #3: New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers Open Thread

After a pair of games at the Prudential Center in downtown Newark, the scene for the Hudson River Rivalry has shifted to the world's most famous arena in downtown Manhattan. While Billy Joel was originally scheduled to take center stage at Madison Square Garden tonight, it'll be the Rangers and Devils clashing in a Game 3 showdown with a lot on the line.

For the Rangers, this is a group that knows a two game series lead is anything but safe. The Rangers turned deficits of 3-1 and 2-0 into 4-3 series wins during the first two rounds of last year's playoffs, but then squandered a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals by losing the next four games to end their season. The Blueshirts have't lead a series by a 3-0 margin since their 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals meeting with the Atlanta Thrashers, a team that hasn't existed for 12 years.

For the Devils, the possibility of losing and facing a 3-0 series deficit would be daunting for any team, let alone one as young and inexperienced as them. Players have already been vocalizing their frustration over the first two games in Newark. Games 1 and 2 were the Devils' first consecutive regulation losses of the 2023 calendar year, and the team is still in search of their first even strength goal of the series. Lindy Ruff has once again opted to change things up with his forwards and defensive pairings, so New Jersey will be trotting out yet another different set of players for tonight's meeting.

New Jersey Devils Lines:

Timo Meier - Michael McLeod - Dawson Mercer

Ondrej Palat - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt

Erik Haula - Jack Hughes - Tomas Tatar

Yegor Sharangovich - Curtis Lazar - Nathan Bastian

Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton

Ryan Graves - John Marino

Brendan Smith - Damon Serverson

Akira Schmid

New York Rangers Lines:

Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Patrick Kane

Artemiy Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Vladimir Tarasenko

Alexis Lafreniere - Filip Chytil - Kaapo Kakko

Jimmy Vesey - Barclay Goodrow - Tyler Motte

Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox

K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba

Niko Mikkola - Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin

Player to Watch: Chris Kreider

The Rangers' power play has been a critical factor in the first two games, and Chris Kreider has been the one doing the damage with the man advantage. Kreider scored a pair of power play goals in Game 1 as well as Game 2, giving him four total heading into tonight's contest. If the Rangers are going to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, Kreider will likely play into why that happens, so keep an eye on #20 in blue tonight.

Enjoy the game!