The Hudson River Rivalry is back as the New Jesey Devils travel to Madison Square Garden to take on their rivals, the New York Rangers, tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
The Rangers had the Devils’ numbers last season as they swept the season series. The Rangers are 6-3-1 in the past 10 games in the regular season against the Devils, and are especially good at MSG. The Devils were able to knock the Rangers out of the playoffs in the 2022-23 season after going to seven games.
The Devils have been playing good hockey as of late, winning the last nine out of 13 games. But as mentioned many times during this season so far, the Devils lack consistency. In three out of their four losses, the Devils have been shut out. With the firepower the Devils offense have, they should not be getting shut out as often as they do.
The Devils will look for their power play to continue being successful as they are the number one power play unit in the league. Stefan Noesen is always a player to watch on the Devils power play as he has six power play goals so far this season.
Jack Hughes is expected to be a star tonight against the Rangers. It is no secret he loves to play against the Rangers as he has 11 goals and nine assists in 20 career games against the Rangers. Watch out for Hughes as he has been collecting three-point nights at an impressive rate this season.
Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in the Devils net tonight. He is 3-2 in his last five and 9-4-2 in his career against the Rangers.
The Rangers went through a rough five-game skid before snapping it against the Montreal Canadiens this past Saturday. Despite having a rough few games, the Rangers will always be a team to look out for as they are backed by, if not the best, then one of the best goalie tandems in the league. It is unconfirmed if Igor Sheskterkin or Jonathan Quick will be in net.
Artemi Panarin has continued to be successful for the Rangers, but has lacked any support from the other superstars on the Rangers roster. Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider are off to slow starts while young guns like Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafreniere have been producing more. Confidence is low in the Rangers locker room as panic has already set in and trade talks have begun.
Special teams continue to be good for the Rangers as the penalty kill is second overall and the power play is 11th overall. The Rangers will have to rely heavily on their penalty kill as they go against the dominating Devils power play.
A classic rivalry game that could go either way. Who will take the two points from the first meeting of the Hudson River Rivalry?
