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NHL Game Preview: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers - 12/20/11

December 20, 2011, 3:58 PM ET [ Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Matchup- Rangers (18-8-4 - 40 points) @ Devils (18-13-1 - 37 points)
TV - MSG, MSG Plus
Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET
Last 10: New York Rangers 6-3-1 / New Jersey 6-4-0
Projected starting goalies - Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) vs. Martin Brodeur (NJD)

Battle of the stats

Goals for/against per game

New York Rangers - 2.87 / 2.13
New Jersey - 2.59 / 2.84

Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage

New York Rangers - 16.5% / 86.4%
New Jersey - 13.7% / 92.5%

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Rangers:

Brandon Dubinsky - Brad Richards - Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik
Carl Hagelin - Brian Boyle - John Mitchell
Ruslan Fedotenko - Mike Rupp - Brandon Prust

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto - Anton Stralman
Tim Erixon - Stu Bickel

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:

Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Ryan Carter - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Tim Sestito - Cam Janssen

Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Anton Volchenkov - Kurtis Foster
Matt Taormina - Mark Fayne

Notes: Matt Taormina is expected to be in the lineup for Henrik Tallinder, who is dealing with back spasms...Alexander Urbom is expected to sit on D alongside the injured Tallinder...Martin Brodeur will start...Patrik Elias will not play tonight as he is currently ill...Travis Zajac will take his spot on the second line...Tim Sestito will draw back into the lineup.

Rangers to watch out for:

Ryan Callahan - The Rangers captain has been heating up as of late. He has registered points in five of his last six games.

Artem Anisimov - Like Callahan, Anisimov has increased his offensive production as of late. He has seven points in his last eight games.

Dan Girardi - He averages over 27 minutes per game and is the key cog on the Rangers back end. Parise, Henrique and Kovalchuk can expect to see a healthy dose of him tonight.

Devils to watch out for:

Travis Zajac - This is the first time Zajac will play in the Devils top-six since returning from his Achilles injury. How will he hold up?

Tim Sestito - Thanks to Elias' illness, Sestito has found himself back in the lineup fairly quickly. The Devils will need his physical edge tonight in this rivalry game.

Martin Brodeur - He's 2-1-0 in his past three starts and has had a save percentage of .915 or better in two of those starts (one is a loss). Can he give the Devils some solid goaltending tonight?

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