Overview
At long last, the playoffs are upon us. Tonight, the New Jersey Devils will take on the New York Rangers in game one of their first-round series. It’s an exciting night for the Devils, their first playoff game in five years. It’s been a rough decade since New Jersey made a run to the Cup in 2012, but the rebuild is complete, the window is open, and now the Devils get to test themselves against a fearsome Ranger squad.
This test will not be easy, the Rangers finished five points behind the Devils with 107. Though they may be seeded lower, their advantage comes in their experience. New York advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last year on the backs of Igor Shesterkin and company. The Devils are a highly skilled team, but their inexperience will make an already challenging series even more so.
Tonight will serve as New Jersey’s proving ground. No one expected them to be in such a high position going into the postseason, and tonight is the perfect opportunity to make a statement.
Lines and Pairings
Devils –
Forwards:
Tatar-Hischier-Mercer
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Meier-Haula-Boqvist
Wood-McLeod-Bastian
Defense:
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Marino
Bahl-Severson
Goalies:
Vanecek
Blackwood / Schmid
Rangers –
Forwards:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kane
Panarin-Trocheck-Tarasenko
Lafreniere-Chytil-Kakko
Vesey-Goodrow-Motte
Defense:
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Mikkola-Schneider
Goalies:
Shesterkin
Halak
Keys to the Game
Which Goalies Will We Get?
On paper, there is no question that the Devils have the advantage at five on five. What this game and series will come down to, however, is goaltending.
Vitek Vanecek enters game one as New Jersey’s ride-or-die starter in his first season on the team. He provided much-needed stability in the net during the regular season, posting a .910 save percentage (SV%) and 13.28 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in 52 games. Vanecek experienced a rough stretch in February, so he is by no means perfect. The question is: which Vanecek will we get?
Igor Shesterkin is New Jersey’s main challenge in this series. Shesterkin had an historic season last year, posting a .935 SV% on a Rangers team that advanced to the Conference Finals. He started out slow this season compared to 2021-22, but make no mistake, Igor Shesterkin was lights out this season, notching a .915 SV% and 27.84 GSAx.
The only trouble is, the Devils have had his number this year. Shesterkin has been mediocre in his four games against the Devils this season, only putting up one good game in March.
This series is as even as can be, and it will all come down to goaltending.
Stymie The Power Play
At five-on-five, the Rangers aren’t usually the most impressive. What should scare the Devils, however, is when they go on the man-advantage.
They have relied heavily on this aspect of their game over the past couple of seasons, and it is sure to play a role in this series. They have one of the best powerplays in the league and two of the best powerplay scorers to boot in Mika Zibinejad and Artemi Panerin.
The Devils will need to stay out of the box if they want to prevent an offensive onslaught.
Where To Watch
Tonight’s game can be seen on TBS out-of-market and on MSG SportsNet and MSG2 at 7:00 pm EDT.
Note, DAB editor James Vilani did a great article previewing this series, so I’ll just summarize a couple of aspects.