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Devils, Rangers both in need of a win as they finish season series

March 19, 2012, 1:35 PM ET [64 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Match-up - Devils (41-26-5 - 87 points) @ Rangers (44-20-7 - 95 points)
Road/Home records - 21-13-2 -------------- 24-9-2
TV - NBCSN (HD), TSN 2 (HD)
Puck drop - 7:30 PM ET
Season series - Devils lead 3-2
Last 10: New Jersey 6-3-1 / New York (R) 4-5-1
Projected starting goalies - Martin Brodeur (NJ) vs. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)

Battle of the stats

Goals for/against per game

New York (R) - 2.70 / 2.16
New Jersey - 2.60 / 2.56

Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage

New York (R) - 14.2% / 86.4%
New Jersey - 16.5% / 89.4%

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

Rangers lines courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com.

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

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Tim Erixon
Michael Del Zotto - Stu Bickell

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

Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jacob Joseson - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Ryan Carter - Cam Janssen

Anton Volchenkov - Marek Zidlicky
Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne

Notes: Martin Brodeur is expected to start...Cam Janssen is back in the lineup...Steve Bernier and Matt Taormina are expected to sit...Travis Zajac continues to practice with the team but no timetable has been set for a return.

Rangers to watch out for:

Carl Hagelin - The speedy Rangers rookie has enjoyed a good amount of success against the Devils this season, tallying six points (2G, 4A) in five games.

Derek Stepan - He has just one point (0G, 1A) in his past six games. The Rangers could certainly use more from their second line center.

Henrik Lundqvist - Despite being 2-2-0 against the Devils this season, his stats have been extremely impressive. In his four starts against the Devils, he has posted a 1.26 goals against average and a .947 save percentage.

Devils to watch out for:

Dainius Zubrus - He usually plays pretty well against big, physical teams in important games. Will he break out of his six-game pointless streak tonight?

David Clarkson - He has three goals (two game winners), four points and 26 PIMs against the Rangers this season so I'm sure, one way or another, he'll get on the score sheet tomorrow.

Martin Brodeur - He has been outstanding against the Rangers this season, posting a 3-2-0 record with a 1.58 goals against average and .931 save percentage.

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