New Jersey Devils (M2) vs New York Rangers (M3) | Series Tied 3-3

[HockeyWooot]

NYR in 5/6.

NHL playoffs are a different beast. I think their experience will stifle and humble the young and talented NJD team.

 

[AirGut]

lol like the rangers second d pairing that sucks won’t get eaten alive. Or like tarasenko and Kane don’t utterly suck defensively and 5 on 5 and they themselves won’t get exposed for being has beens.

have you been actually watching Tarasenko lately? The guy is a f***ing bull on the backcheck

 

[Brobust]

lol like the rangers second d pairing that sucks won’t get eaten alive. Or like tarasenko and Kane don’t utterly suck defensively and 5 on 5 and they themselves won’t get exposed for being has beens.

Oh, those two are brutal too but they're forwards and they're likely to make up for it since they're offensive forwards.

 

[JimmyG89]

Tampa went to Conference Final (Game 7 even) in Stamkos and Hedman’s first playoff. The Blackhawks went to the Conference Final in Toews/Kane first playoff.

I think experience thing is getting overplayed here. Especially since outside of Hughes and Mercer, it isn’t the first playoff for most of the Devils roster.

Dude, Bratt has 1 playoff game, Hischier has 5. Then there are all the guys that debuted on the team the last 3 seasons.

Vanacek has 3 starts, none are good. The only player on the Rangers without any experience is Jimmy Vesey.

It's going to play a factor. This team played two full series all the way to game 7, won both, and then went 6 with the back to back champs. Not to mention came back from 3-1 down in one series and lost the first two the next series.

This could be a series where the Devils get better each game they experience. Everyone trashes Gallant, but he does make adjustments to get the team going.

 

[Xirik]

Dude, Bratt has 1 playoff game, Hischier has 5. Then there are all the guys that debuted on the team the last 3 seasons.

Vanacek has 3 starts, none are good. The only player on the Rangers without any experience is Jimmy Vesey.

It's going to play a factor. This team played two full series all the way to game 7, won both, and then went 6 with the back to back champs. Not to mention came back from 3-1 down in one series and lost the first two the next series.

This could be a series where the Devils get better each game they experience. Everyone trashes Gallant, but he does make adjustments to get the team going.

Playoff games
Haula- 61
Palat -138
Lazar-21
Meier-35
Tatar-40
Graves-25
Hamilton-54
Marino-17
Smith-56
Siegenthaler-11
Vanecek-3

Yep, The Devils team is just a bunch of wide eyed playoff rookies that don't understand playoff hockey.

Also I think Hischier getting beat down by Tampa in the playoffs his rookie year probably allows him to understand that "playoffs is different".

 

[Artorius Horus T]

These play-offs too soon for this Devils team.
Rangers 4-0

Devils might give the Rangers fight for their money in game #1 and maybe even in game #2
but games #3 and 4 will be a different story.


But then again, ive been wrong about the Devils the entire season, like 90% of the hockey fans been,
so who can really say what they'll do.

The odds though, favor Rangers.

 

[Hisch13r]

I hate this matchup. Devils will skate circles around them. Rangers will keep it close due to absurd finishing and a superhuman goalie.

 

[Xirik]

whelp, A georgeleafer post supporting your team is basically the worst jinx you can ever get.

Sorry Ranger fans, it looks like this series is over before it even started.

 

[BB88]

This is the most balanced series.

2 quality teams and could go either way

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

Devils in 6 6 6

 

[mm11]

rangers are just better, sorry

 

[Cheddabombs]

rangers are just better, sorry

 

[Rob Brown]

Playoff games
Haula- 61
Palat -138
Lazar-21
Meier-35
Tatar-40
Graves-25
Hamilton-54
Marino-17
Smith-56
Siegenthaler-11
Vanecek-3

Yep, The Devils team is just a bunch of wide eyed playoff rookies that don't understand playoff hockey.

Also I think Hischier getting beat down by Tampa in the playoffs his rookie year probably allows him to understand that "playoffs is different".

I agree with the rest but is only 3 games for Vanecek worth mentioning, especially if he's the starter?

 

[Xirik]

I agree with the rest but is only 3 games for Vanecek worth mentioning, especially if he's the starter?

the person I quoted did.

 

[K2MyEverest]

Im torn between both teams. I feel like the Devils are superior on defense but Rangers are more experienced up front. How Hugues and Hischier are going to react being hit and targeted? This is not regular season hockey. They'll have to go to another level and because of that, I think NYR will win in 6. Watch out for Trouba who will try to set the tone in game 1. If there's one wildcard player who could surprise and put the Devils on his shoulder it's Dawson Mercer but because Devils core is young, I have to go with Rangers.

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

Devils in 6 6 6

I read this in Drake’s voice lol

 

[2014nyr]

could the MSG ice be a factor? seems like its unseasonably warmer there and the fact that the Garden is fairly high up doesn't help matters.

Perhaps a bit of the Devils speed is neutralised a bit on what might be pretty choppy ice?

no but neither rink is known for being the best ice. the msg ice being terrible is an old wives tale at this point. the ice is down full time now and they dropped the temp too to keep the ice crisp - that's why its colder in msg this year. never gonna be confused for the ice in edmonton but it's been a few years since there were any issues with it and this year it's been really good. i don't know if people even know what a game on bad ice looks like, they just default to things they've heard other people say.

besides...why the hell would the rangers want soft ice? so they can't skate either? not to mention the rangers biggest strength is snapping the puck around and thats kinda hard to do when every pass is a grenade.

 

[TBF1972]

I'm sure the Devils won't have an issue with sending Wood at Shesterkin's knees if they see Trouba do something which mostly likely will be dirty with how that guy hits come playoffs. Play with fire, I dare you

we could use another 'skilled' guy like geertsen in the lineup.

 

[Boris Zubov]

close f***ing enough

Not if you're trying to make it home.

 

[TGWL]

As a NYR fan, I think you fans of other teams need to stop acting like NYR go out and target players physically. I get it, trouba took out Crosby. Trouba throws bit hits. Cool. Take away Trouba for a second and look back at how NYR play in the playoffs, we don't exactly play any different. We don't try and hit players to instil fear. All team will be coached to play tightly, but we dont. They won't be targeting Hughes. Trouba will go for a big hit if it's there but it won't be player specific. It'll be whoever is there.

 

[TBF1972]

They're super small. Should get pushed around.

Defense

	Name	Age	HT	WT	Shot	Birth Place	Birthdate
	Adam Fox23	25	5' 11"	182 lbs	R	Jericho, NY	02/17/98
	Ben Harpur5	28	6' 6"	231 lbs	L	Hamilton, ON	01/12/95
	Wyatt Kalynuk	26	6' 1"	180 lbs	L	Brandon, MB	03/14/97
	Ryan Lindgren55	25	6' 0"	191 lbs	L	Burnsville, MN	02/11/98
	Niko Mikkola77	26	6' 4"	209 lbs	L	Imatra, Finland	04/27/96
	K'Andre Miller79	23	6' 5"	215 lbs	L	Hopkins, MN	01/21/00
	Braden Schneider4	21	6' 3"	208 lbs	R	Prince Albert, SK	09/20/01
	Jacob Trouba8	29	6' 3"	203 lbs	R	Rochester, MI	02/26/94

Defense

	Name	Age	HT	WT	Shot	Birth Place	Birthdate
	Kevin Bahl88	22	6' 6"	230 lbs	L	New Westminster, BC	06/27/00
	Ryan Graves33	27	6' 5"	220 lbs	L	Yarmouth, NS	05/21/95
	Dougie Hamilton7	29	6' 6"	229 lbs	R	Toronto, ON	06/17/93
	John Marino6	25	6' 1"	181 lbs	R	North Easton, MA	05/21/97
	Damon Severson28	28	6' 2"	205 lbs	R	Melville, SK	08/07/94
	Jonas Siegenthaler71	25	6' 2"	218 lbs	L	Zurich, Switzerland	05/06/97
	Brendan Smith2	34	6' 2"	200 lbs	L	Mimico, ON	02/08/89

 

[TBF1972]

These play-offs too soon for this Devils team.
Rangers 4-0

Devils might give the Rangers fight for their money in game #1 and maybe even in game #2
but games #3 and 4 will be a different story.


But then again, ive been wrong about the Devils the entire season, like 90% of the hockey fans been,
so who can really say what they'll do.

The odds though, favor Rangers.

thanks george

that's maybe more help than we needed.

 

[Uncle Sid]

As much as I despise the Devils, this is not a good matchup for the Rangers. I’m not subscribing to the idea that playoff experience will have some major impact on this series allowing NYR to run away with it. NYR will be who they were all season against a Devils team who, let’s face it, looked better in the regular season matchups. I think NJ takes this in 6.

 

[Cheddabombs]

As much as I despise the Devils, this is not a good matchup for the Rangers. I’m not subscribing to the idea that playoff experience will have some major impact on this series allowing NYR to run away with it. NYR will be who they were all season against a Devils team who, let’s face it, looked better in the regular season matchups. I think NJ takes this in 6.

Oh no you don't, trying to reverse jinx yourself to a win. Not on my watch!

Igor is a huge difference maker in this series, he can easily steal games for those pesky Rangers. This has the Rangers winning in 5 all over it.

 

[Devs3cups]

The Devils are the overwhelmingly better team at 5v5, but the Rangers have an elite PP and a top 3 goalie. The Rangers ride or die with these 2 elements.

If the Devils limit their penalties and score on Igor as they’ve done this year, I like their chances.

The Rangers can make you pay if you go to the box and are very opportunistic.

It’s gonna be a fun one, that’s for sure. I’m just happy the Devils are on the upswing. Bright future ahead of them.