Rangers - Devils will be a series for the ages

[Straight Fire]

This should be so exciting. I'll side with NJ winning but both teams are stacked. Could be a wild back and forth nail-biter. Woo-hoo!

 

[Chips]

Rangers have a pretty big edge in net imo. Skaters could go either way as both teams seem to bounce relatively hot and cold.

 

[Mgd31]

I mean this will probably happen and its pretty much a toss up, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Devils win the division. They are only 3 points back of Carolina and they still have another game against each other.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Should be a great series. Not sure I get the “Rangers are stacked now” stuff. They could easily win, it will be a coin flip. But Pat Kane stinks and Tarasenko is mid, they’re just big names.

 

[Rob Brown]

Definitely the series in the East (and probably the West, too) I am most excited about outside of Toronto/Tampa. Should be a good one.

 

[BPD]

It's going to be a fun one.

If structure wins out, then the Devils likely have an edge if their third line can hold toe with the Boyz-II-Men line. I kind of consider all things equal here in the top 6 (perhaps giving too much respect to Sharangovich and Tarasenko), but that third line is where the Rangers start to pry open a depth advantage.

If the play goes firewagon - and it probably will - Rangers have a sizable advantage in net and that's when it matters most. Shesterkin can steal that version of the series and Vanecek is far more likely to blow that version of the series. Gonna be a heart attack and a half with a bunch of 6-4 games.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Between Carolina and New York, I much rather NYR. Will NJ win, who knows...what goaltender gets hot and how do they call the playoffs.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Man the way Devils fans talk now you could swear they’ve won a round in the past decade

 

[BPD]

Man the way Devils fans talk now you could swear they’ve won a round in the past decade

TBF they've won a few rounds of the draft and free agency

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Rangers have a substantially better roster

Eh idk about that as a Ranger fan. They do have more experience but idk about better.

And NJ prob has the best player between the teams in Hughes who can take over games, close between him and Fox but might lean toward him ribjt now.

Have to see what he does in playoffs though. And if you know anything about Ranger Devil rivalry in particular, anything can happen

 

[tmg]

Rangers have a pretty big edge in net imo.

Am curious what part of Vanecek’s 25-6-3 record and 2.37 GAA during his Devils tenure to date is a harbinger of disaster?

Like I’m just not seeing where this repeatedly purported weakness in Vanecek is when he really hasn’t provided any evidence supporting the haters’ point of view. Like you don’t even have anything to point to to say why you think he’s so inferior. You just will it so and decree.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Man the way Devils fans talk now you could swear they’ve won a round in the past decade

So Devils fans shouldn't be excited at the prospect of playing the team they've looked good against this year and built like last year's Pens to a legitimate tee which literally had the Rangers cooked? Weird

 

[Canes]

Between Carolina and New York, I much rather NYR. Will NJ win, who knows...what goaltender gets hot and how do they call the playoffs.

I think you'll probably being getting both. At this point, Hurricanes will be lucky to beat whoever they play in the first round.

 

[Three On Zero]

Eh idk about that as a Ranger fan. They do have more experience but idk about better.

And NJ prob has the best player between the teams in Hughes who can take over games, close between him and Fox but might lean toward him ribjt now.

Have to see what he does in playoffs though. And if you know anything about Ranger Devil rivalry in particular, anything can happen

All depends on Shesterkin, and how Kane meshes

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Eh idk about that as a Ranger fan. They do have more experience but idk about better.

And NJ prob has the best player between the teams in Hughes who can take over games, close between him and Fox but might lean toward him ribjt now.

Have to see what he does in playoffs though. And if you know anything about Ranger Devil rivalry in particular, anything can happen

Thank you for being a Ranger fan bringing up this point, they have the biggest game breaker in that series which is being overlooked here.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

So Devils fans shouldn't be excited at the prospect of playing the team they've looked good against this year and built like last year's Pens to a legitimate tee which literally had the Rangers cooked? Weird

Yeah that’s what I meant lmfao

 

[DerekDevils30]

This will come down to goaltending I think. Is current Shesterkin going to be the version of Shesterkin we see in the playoffs or will he regain last year‘s form?

Vanecek has has a very good season but can we expect that level of play in the postseason?

 

[Canes]

Thank you for being a Ranger fan bringing up this point, they have the biggest game breaker in that series which is being overlooked here.

Hughes hasn't played a single playoff game though.

Sure he's a top 5 player right now but the playoffs are a different beast. Rangers just added two Stanley Cup winner vets on the wing, let's not overlook that either.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Yeah that’s what I meant lmfao

Wtf does their prior success have to do with anything with our fans being excited about the process of the playoffs

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Hughes hasn't played a single playoff game though.

Sure he's a top 5 player right now but the playoffs are a different beast. Rangers just added two Stanley Cup winner vets on the wing, let's not overlook that either.

And Devils just gave Hughes the perfect stylistically winger that he's been missing for the past 2 years.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Thank you for being a Ranger fan bringing up this point, they have the biggest game breaker in that series which is being overlooked here.

Yeah I mean it’s not really disputable, he’s at lest clearly the best forward.

He and Fox will probably be pretty close throughout their careers, trading better years, but right now he’s playing the best for sure.

I guess we can at least both root for them to be the best for Team USA…

Fox hasn’t been as dominant as he was to start the year

 

[Chips]

Am curious what part of Vanecek’s 25-6-3 record and 2.37 GAA during his Devils tenure to date is a harbinger of disaster?

Like I’m just not seeing where this repeatedly purported weakness in Vanecek is when he really hasn’t provided any evidence supporting the haters’ point of view. Like you don’t even have anything to point to to say why you think he’s so inferior. You just will it so and decree.

Well for starters I’m a caps fan and I’ve seen Vanacek look good for long regular seasons stretches, then not.


I’m rooting for the devils as one of my backup teams because of him, I’m just saying Shesty having a bad season is still no worse than average and his best is way better than anything Vanecek has done


But if the Rangers skaters go cold again while the Devils are rolling, or the reverse, could decide the series regardless. But Shesty is the only goalie on the teams I’d expect to steal a series if the team in front looked awful.

 

[Gurglesons]

Hopefully the Devils sweep it.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Devils have the better top 6, Rangers have the better bottom 6. Fox is the best defenseman on either team and they have a solid group around him but NJ has 5 defenseman (Hamilton, Marino, Graves, Siegenthaler and Severson) who are all top 4 caliber and will have Luke Hughes joining them after the college season. Shesterkin is elite while Vanacek is closer to average. Would take the Devils skaters slightly over the Rangers but Shesterkin closes the gap to about even, should be a great, competitive series.

 

[Machinehead]

Did we need this?

Every Rangers thread is already a Rangers vs Devils thread.