Monday, the New Jersey Devils take on the New York Rangers in the team’s second preseason game. New Jersey opened their preseason slate with a solid 2-1 victory against the New York Islanders on Sunday.
The Devils finished last season with a record of 42-37-3, missing the postseason. The Rangers finished 34-39-9, also missing the postseason.
Match Overview
It’s always a show when the Devils and Rangers face off, even in the preseason. While, as of now, head coach Sheldon Keefe has not disclosed who will be playing Monday it’s reasonable to assume the lineup will feature a lot of NHL regulars given the lack of those players in Sunday’s game.
The Rangers made a lot of additions in the offseason, but given this is their first game of the preseason, their regulars could be more limited.
Lines and Pairings
Here is how the Devils and Rangers are practicing at training camp.
Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Evangelista
Bratt-Hughes-Mantha
Gritsyuk-Rodrigues-Mercer
Lombardi-Glass-Brown
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillon-Chisholm
Goalies
Allen
Daws
Rangers
Forwards
Perreault-Zibanejad-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Laba-Tolvanen
Kartye-Veleno-Raddysh
Palat-Cizikas-Duclair
Defense
Gavrikov-Fox
Pettersson-Durzi
Smits-Schneider
Goalies
Shesterkin
Korpisalo
Keys to the Game
A New Look Top-Six
Last season, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt’s most common third linemates were Connor Brown and Ondrej Palat. Nico Hischier and Timo Meier’s most common third linemate was Dawson Mercer. To start this year, new additions Anthony Mantha and Luke Evangelista slot into those roles. We could get to see these new lines in game action for the first time Monday.
If Mantha can finish the passes he gets from Hughes and Bratt, and Evangelista can unlock Meier’s goal scoring again, that alone would shoot the Devils up the goals scored leaderboard.
Smits’ Debut?
After their worst season in nearly a decade last year, the Rangers found themselves with the fifth-overall pick. With that selection, they took defenseman Albert Smits, who thus far has been given every opportunity to make the roster out of camp. If Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan decides to go light on NHL regulars in the teams’ first preseason game, it would be a surprise to not see the 18-year old defenseman make his debut.
Where to Watch
Puck drop Monday is set for 7:00 pm ET. The game can be found on MSG and MSG SportsNet.