The hockey gods could not have dreamed up a better first round matchup, with two rivals with a lot on the line–and a ton of talent on the roster–slated to face off in a playoff series that is sure to draw tons of attention.
The second-place New Jersey Devils take on the third-place New York Rangers in a Metropolitan Division matchup that, really, is pretty even, and could go either way.
It’s one of the most hotly-contested NHL Playoff series. With both arenas just a few miles apart, home ice advantage could very well be erased. Here’s what to expect from the round one tilt between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers.
New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers: By the numbers
The second-place Devils ended the season with 112 points (just one shy of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes), and the third-place Rangers closed out their campaign with 107 points. The Devils went on a 7-3-0 run in their final 10 games, ending the season on a strong note with a huge, come-from-behind overtime win over the Washington Capitals. They closed with a +65 goal differential and a 52-22-8 record.
The Rangers, by contrast, struggled at the end of the season, going 5-2-3 in their final 10 contests and closing the season with a 3-2 regulation loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. They ended with a +58 goal differential and a 47-22-13 record.
But New Jersey won three of the four games against New York this season, and captured the season series for the first time since 2017-2018–ironically, the last time the Devils made the playoffs.
Young versus veteran offense
The Devils are in a playoff position for the first time since the 2017-2018 season, when many of their active players were not on the roster or even in the league. Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Miles Wood and Damon Severson are the veterans as far as experience with the Devils goes. But Bratt was a rookie in the 17-18 season and only played one playoff game with his club. Hischier played five playoff games and recorded one goal and a -4 plus/minus.
This means that the players carrying the majority of the offensive workload this year–Bratt, Jack Hughes and Hischier–are relatively new to playoff hockey, with a total of six games and one goal between them. The good news is that Dougie Hamilton, who is also among the team’s point leaders, has extensive playoff experience: in 54 playoff games, he’s collected 25 points.
The Rangers, on the other hand, lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and are led by a core group of players that only got stronger at the trade deadline. Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with 92 points, followed by Mika Zibanejad with 91 points, and defenseman Adam Fox collected 72 points.
All three have seen the playoffs for the past several years, and are bolstered by deadline acquisitions Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, both of whom have won the Stanley Cup.
Between the pipes: Tale of the goalies
Two of the league’s most elite netminders are slated to face off in this series–but only one has real playoff experience. Vitek Vanecek, despite some injuries, has posted some solid stats for the Devils this year, with a 33-11-4 record, a 2.45 GAA, a .911 save percentage and three shutouts through 48 starts and 52 games in total. For the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin went 37-13-8, carrying a 2.48 GAA, .916 save percentage and three shutouts in 58 games this season.
But, Shesterkin has had an illustrious career in the postseason, with a .928 save percentage and a 2.61 GAA in 21 playoff appearances. Vanecek, however, has only appeared in three playoff games, with a .855 save percentage and a 4.25 GAA in his postseason appearances.
New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils NHL Playoff history
“I think the crowd and the history with the fans and everything, in terms of that, it adds to it as well,” New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad told NHL.com. ” It’s going to be exciting.”
The rivals have played a total of six series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, beginning when the Devils were introduced into the league in 1995. While the Rangers won four of those matchups, New Jersey won the most recent tilt, a six-game victory in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final. Then-rookie Adam Henrique scored the overtime game winner to send his Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals, where the Devils eventually lost to the Los Angeles Kings.
Devils-Rangers prediction: Rangers in 7.
The 2023 NHL Playoffs begin Monday, April 17.