Match-up - Devils (48-28-6 - 102 points) vs. Panthers (38-26-18 - 94 points)
Season series - Tied at two
Last 10: Devils 7-2-1 / Panthers 2-3-5

Battle of the stats

Goals for/against per game

Florida - 2.40 / 2.63
New Jersey - 2.63 / 2.50

Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage

Florida - 18.5% / 79.5%
New Jersey - 17.2% / 89.6%

Faceoff win percentage

Florida - 50.6%
New Jersey - 47.1%

Leading scorers

Florida:

1. Tomas Fleischmann (27G + 34A = 61P)
2. Stephen Weiss (20G + 37A = 57P)
3. Kris Versteeg (23G + 31A = 54P)

New Jersey:

1. Ilya Kovalchuk (37G + 46A = 83P)
2. Patrik Elias (26G + 52A = 78P)
3. Zach Parise (31G + 38A = 69P)

Key matchups

Martin Brodeur vs. Jose Theodore / Scott Clemmensen

It is unknown who will start for the Panthers in game one, and all throughout the series, but you have to believe if one goaltender is significantly better than the other his team will win the series.

Patrik Elias' line vs. Florida's top line

Pete DeBoer has matched up Elias' line against opposing teams top line for most of the season, and you can bet that he will continue to do it in this round. If Elias' line can't contain Kris Versteeg and company, New Jersey will be in trouble.

Devils PK vs. Panthers PP

The Panthers powerplay has been quite effective throughout the season, as has the Devils penalty kill, so whoever wins this special teams battle will certainly be in a good position to win the series.

X-Factors

Florida:

Dmitry Kulikov, Brian Campbell, Marcel Goc.

New Jersey:

David Clarkson, Adam Henrique, Alexei Ponikarovsky.

Series schedule

*If necessary

All times are Eastern Time.

Game One - Devils @ Panthers - Friday @ 7:00 - NHL Network, TSN
Game Two - Devils @ Panthers - Sunday @ 7:30 - NBC Sports Network, TSN
Game Three - Panthers @ Devils - Tuesday @ 7:00 - NHL Network, TSN
Game Four - Panthers @ Devils - Thursday @ 7:00 - NHL Network, TSN
* Game Five - Devils @ Panthers - Saturday @ 6:30 - NHL Network, TSN
* Game Six - Panthers @ Devils - Tuesday @ TBD - TBD
* Game Seven - Devils @ Panthers - Thursday @ TBD - TBD

Prediction: Devils in six games.

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