Rangers Pregame: Scouting the Devils
Since the Rangers have already faced the Devils, we will change it up a little today:
New Jersey Devils
Record: 4-3 (8 pts) 3rd place Atlantic Division
Fraternize with the Enemy: In Lou We Trust
Last Game: The Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Martin Brodeur notched the 102nd shutout of his career, he needs one more to tie Terry Sawchuk's NHL career record.
Quote:
"Much better. Everyone worked hard. Everyone played disciplined. We were good with the puck. We had good scoring chances. I can't find a player that didn't do his job." -- Devils coach Jacques Lemaire after the Devils scored their first home win of the season Saturday night.
Leading Scorer:
Things to watch for:
Sean Avery vs. Martin Brodeur: Is there a better one on one rivalry in hockey?
Rangers on the rebound: How will Tort's troops rebound from an embarassing loss at home to the San Jose Sharks?
Rangers Power Play vs. Devils Penalty Kill: The good news for the Rangers: the PK unit for the Devils has not been good, giving up 7 goals in just 27 times shorthanded. The bad news for the Rangers: the Devils have taken less minor penalties than any other team in the league. Rangers power play is currently 7th overall, and boy do I love telling you guys that.
Henrik Lundqvist: Will the Devils be physical with him, and more importantly, will the Rangers do anything about it?
News and Notes on tonight's game:
New look, same stage for Devils-Rangers-ESPN.com
Devils at Rangers Preview from In Lou We Trust, the SBNation community for the New Jersey Devils. Our own Joe Fortunato contributed to their preview, make sure you check it out.
New Jersey Devils goalie could tie NHL shutout record tonight (The Star-Ledger)
More notes after the jump.......
- Henrik Lundqvist is is 10-1-1 with a 1.32 GAA and three shutouts in 12 career starts against the Devils (4-3-0) at Madison Square Garden, yielding one goal or less in five of the last seven games.
- Marian Gaborik has 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games against the Devils, dating back to his time in Minnesota.
- New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur made 23 saves when the Devils and Rangers met 2 weeks ago to fall to 0-2-0 on the season, but is 4-1-0 with a 2.15 GAA since that game.
- Brodeur has a 2.30 GAA in 13 games at the Garden since 2005-06, but is just 3-8-2 in those contests.
- Tonight marks the first of back-to-back road games against divisional opponents for the Devils, who will also visit Pittsburgh on Saturday. New Jersey has a perfect 3-0-0 record on the road so far.