Thursday, the New Jersey Devils look to win their second in a row against the New York Rangers.
The Devils are 3-3-0 to start the season, while the Rangers are near the top of the East at 6-2-0. Both teams missed the postseason last year.
Match Overview
When the Devils and Rangers meet up, it’s almost always a show. Over the last two seasons, however, it’s been New Jersey that’s controlled the script. The Devils are 5-1-1 in the Hudson River Rivalry since Sheldon Keefe took over as head coach in 2024-25.
Both teams are dealing with injuries at the moment, although it’s certainly been worse for one team. The Rangers lost star netminder Igor Shesterkin for the season last week, on top of finding out backup goalie Jonas Korpisalo would be out for a month. That left the net in the hands of Dylan Garand who has been lights out thus far.
For the Devils, they’re still missing Connor Brown who is working his way back from lower-body injury. Luke Evangelista missed Tuesday night’s game with an illness, but it’s unclear if he will be out Thursday.
Lines and Pairings
Here are the lines each team will ice for tonight’s game.
Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Evangelista
Bratt-Hughes-Gritsyuk
Mantha-Rodrigues-Mercer
Lombardi-Glass-Boqvist
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Chisholm-Kovacevic
Goalies
Allen
Daws
Rangers
Forwards
Perreault-Zibanejad-Dorofeyev
Kartye-Miller-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Laba-Tolvanen
Bjorkstrand-Dowling-Rempe
Defense
Gavrikov-Fox
Pettersson-Durzi
Smits-Schneider
Goalies
Garand
Martin
Keys to the Game
Overperforming Versus Underperforming
Despite a gap in the record between the two teams at the start of the year, it’s due to one team overperforming and the other underperforming. The Devils are second in the NHL in five-on-five expected goals percentage (xG%) at five-on-five with a remarkable 62.92%, while the Rangers are 25th at 45.27%.
The Devils have the third-worst goals percentage (G%) minus xG% in the NHL at -23.79; meanwhile, the Rangers have the third best at 18.73. Obviously, there are lots of other factors, but if the Devils can keep playing the way they have been, there’s no reason to think this game can’t be a good one.
Mantha Unlocked?
Anthony Mantha had an underwhelming first five games as a Devil to say the least, but the veteran winger finally broke out in Detroit on Tuesday. Mantha was put on the third line with Stefan Noesen and Evan Rodrigues and along with scoring a pair of goals, that trio held a 59.16 xG%.
Mantha said to the media after Tuesday’s game that playing on this line was, “a little more simple.” Unlocking the first-year Devil would be a huge scoring boost for a team that has struggled in that department so far.
Where to Watch:
Puck drop tonight is set for 7:00 pm ET. The game can be found on MSG and MSG SportsNet 2.