*stats based on playoffs.
Match-up - Devils (48 wins, 102 points) @ Rangers (51 wins, 109 points)
Road/Home records - 24-15-2 -------------- 27-12-2
TV - NBCSN (HD), CBC (HD), RDS (HD)
Puck drop - 8:00 PM ET
Series score - 0-0
Projected starting goalies - Martin Brodeur (NJ) vs. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
Battle of the stats
Goals for/against per game *
New York Rangers - 2.07 / 1.86
New Jersey - 3.00 / 2.33
Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage *
New York Rangers - 15.8 / 82.6
New Jersey - 20.9% / 73.9%
Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Rangers:
Carl Hagelin - Brad Richards - Marian Gaborik
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov - Brian Boyle - Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp - John Mitchell - Brandon Prust
Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto - Stu Bickel
Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Travis Zajac - Ilya Kovalchuk
Zach Parise - Patrik Elias - David Clarkson
Petr Sykora - Adam Henrique - Dainius Zubrus
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Bryce Salvador- Marek Zidlicky
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Adam Larsson
Notes: Martin Brodeur will start...Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton, Tim Sestito and Peter Harrold are expected to sit as healthy scratches.
Rangers to watch out for:
Brad Richards - After an average regular season, he has really stepped up and produced as expected in the playoffs. Ilya Kovalchuk and Dustin Brown are the only players who has more points than Richards of all players remaining in the playoffs.
Marian Gaborik - After a very slow start to the playoffs, in which he tallied just three points (1G, 2A) in his first seven games, he has really picked it up of late registering seven points (3G, 4A) in his last seven.
Marc Staal - He will either be out against Kovalchuk's line or Parise's line all game, so regardless of which matchup he draws he'll need to be good and limit their chances. If he can't do that, the Rangers probably won't win.
Devils to watch out for:
Patrik Elias - Elias has been a Rangers killer throughout his playoff career. In 12 career games he has 18 points (9G, 9A).
Ilya Kovalchuk - Despite playing half of his playoff games this year with a herniated disc, he's the 2nd leading point getter among all players still remaining in the playoffs. Will he produce as he has of late tonight?
Bryce Salvador - Erik Karlsson...I mean Bryce Salvador has been great for the Devils this post-season. Not only has he been great defensively, but he has six points in 12 games. Nobody expects the offensive production to continue at that rate but if he can play solid defensively tonight, as he as all throughout the playoffs, the Devils will be happy.
Keys to the game
New York - Get the crowd into it early
The Rangers scored 1st in Game 7 against the Capitals, got their fans into it early and they never looked back. If they can jump out to another early lead, they'll be in great shape; especially with Henrik Lundqvist in net.
New Jersey - Keep their composure
The Rangers are not quite as in your face as the Flyers, but you better believe they'll try and be as physical as possible with the Devils, especially Kovalchuk and Parise, and try to bait them into stupid penalties. If the Devils can keep their composure, stay calm and stick to their game plan they'll be fine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow me on twitter @ToddCordell.
TheHockeyGuys.net
Email: [email protected]
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»