2023 Playoffs: First Round, Game #7: New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils Open Thread
After six back and forth games that have seen either team dominate for games at a time, the Hudson River rivalry will come down to a winner take all Game 7 in Newark. The Blueshirts opened the series with two dominant efforts on the road before dropping a tightly contested Game 3 at Madison Square Garden. From there, the Devils battled back with a pair of dominant efforts themselves to turn their 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 series lead. The Blueshirts answered the bell with a Game 6 win to set the stage for tonight's contest.
The seven other opening round series have already been decided. The Rangers and Devils will be playing the final game of the first round tonight, so all eyes will be on them. The Blueshirts' Game 6 win quieted some murmurs of radical offseason changes should they lose this series, but those murmurs could resurface quickly and loudly pending tonight's result. It'll take their best game of the series in order to keep those murmurs staved off for the time being.
New York Rangers Lines:
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Vladimir Tarasenko
Alexis Lafreniere - Vincent Trocheck - Patrick Kane
Artemiy Panarin - 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
New Jersey Devils Lines:
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula - Jack Hughes - Ondrej Palat
Tomas Tatar - Michael McLeod - Dawson Mercer
Jesper Boqvist - Curtis Lazar - Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves - John Marino
Kevin Bahl - Damon Serverson
Akira Schmid
Player to Watch: Igor Shesterkin
If the Rangers are going to win tonight and advance to the second round of the playoffs, Igor Shesterkin will need to be the best player on the ice. New York's star netminder has done his part for the majority of the series, conceding two or less goals in all but one of the six games thus far. Shesterkin played well in the Blueshirts' pair of Game 7's last spring, winning both games while sporting a .938 save percentage. Keep an eye on Shesterkin as he looks to backstop his team into the Metropolitan Division Finals.
Enjoy the game!