Rangers - Devils will be a series for the ages

[AfroThunder396]

Love the arrogance. Keep it up.
Devils have no pressure and that could be a big factor. Last year we were in the same position and managed won in 5 elimination games and rally to ECF. If it wasn't Trouba taking Crosby out we would have lost the series. There was talk about how penguins are old and slow but playoffs are different.
Now Kane and Tarasenko aren't on the same level but it's not like they're the only ones to make impact. The group knows what it takes to win a playoff round and adding players who have history of taking over a series is a big deal. Now it's up to Gallant to put the pieces together.

Obviously that comment was tongue and cheek. The only thing about the Rangers that scare me is Shesterkin possibly going God Mode, other than that I'm not scared. NJ is the better team 5v5, as long as they stay out of the box they should win the series.

They really needed another center and some quality defensive depth and they've added neither. Tarasenko and Kane don't address any of the teams weaknesses, thy only make the team older and slower. They might help the PP, but the Rangers PP is already great so I'm not sure what they're really bringing to the table other than their names. IMO guys like Dmitri Orlov or Lars Eller would have been much better fits and really solidified their depth.

 

[glenwo2]

It'll be entertaining, but something tells me the lack of experience for the Devils will lead them to being stomped

In 2018, the Devils got stomped by the Lightning (who won the Cup).

The Rangers are not the Lightning and unlike Vasilevsky in 2018, the Devils seem to have solved Shesterkin a bit.

Do I think the Devils win? I don't know.

The experience-edge goes to the Rangers so they will have the better chance of moving on.

But I'll be obviously rooting for my team to take them down.

 

[golgoXIII]

Man can wait for the playoffs to start it will be epic!!! Rangers vs Devils and Lightning vs Leafs just WOW!!!!

 

[wetcoast]

Even outside of the historic rivalry, the matchup will be legendary, especially for a first round. The rosters are loaded.


NYR:

Panarin-Zibanejad-Kane
Kreider-Trocheck-Tarasenko
Lafreniere-Chytil-Kakko
Vesey-Goodrow-Motte

Fox-Lindgren
Trouba-Miller
Mikkola-Schneider

Shesterkin


NJD:

Tatar-Hischier-Meier
Sharangovich-Hughes-Bratt
Palat-Haula-Mercer
Wood-McLeod-Bastian

Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Marino
Bahl-Severson

Vanacek

Correct me on any mistakes, Devils fans.

Who wins?

All other fanbases win because one fan base here is going home early.

My guess is that NJ pulls it off but who knows maybe Trouba headhunts Hughes and Ranger fans shrug it off?

 

[glenwo2]

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

You know, even so...as good as Adam Fox has been, he's still a Defenseman and they can only do so much in general.

Jack is a forward(Center) so he's in a much better position to have a bigger impact on the game itself.

Now will he have that impact in the playoffs, in this particular series(should it happen)?

Well we will have to see because this will be uncharted territory for him whereas with Adam, it will be Old Hat along with many of the other Rangers players.

Experience vs. Youth

(or we can call it The Veterans vs. The Young Whippersnappers)

 

[Ruggs225]

Obviously that comment was tongue and cheek. The only thing about the Rangers that scare me is Shesterkin possibly going God Mode, other than that I'm not scared. NJ is the better team 5v5, as long as they stay out of the box they should win the series.

They really needed another center and some quality defensive depth and they've added neither. Tarasenko and Kane don't address any of the teams weaknesses, thy only make the team older and slower. They might help the PP, but the Rangers PP is already great so I'm not sure what they're really bringing to the table other than their names. IMO guys like Dmitri Orlov or Lars Eller would have been much better fits and really solidified their depth.

The rangers did not need help at center. They needed RW and defense. They addressed one greatly, and did upgrade t 3ld which was but still is the weak spot.

The rangers center group is fine. It basically on par with the devils for the top 3 on each team.

My ranking:
Hughes
Zib
Hirsch
Troch
Chytil
Haula

So if the rangers need help at center. Then so do the devils. Basically, both are fine there.

Edit: if u are referring to help at centrr as in a player who can slide into top 3 in the event of an injury than i can see that. One injury and we could have problems at C. But when healthy it is fine

 

[sufferer]

Devils in 5.

 

[Schennanigans]

One of the bigger rivalries in the past. The Rangers are obviously favourites here but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Devils took them out.

 

[glenwo2]

Devils in 5.

I disagree.

I just do not see EITHER team winning this game in a sweep or 5 games.

This series (should it happen) will go AT LEAST *SIX*. <==== Fearless Prediction alert! DING DING DING!

 

[Aurinko]

Devils in 5.

I'd say also Devils in 5.

You don't have to be a professor in hockey to see that Rangers have redonkylously stacked team, but big TDL additions just doesn't usually end well in a team sport.

 

[CupofOil]

Rangers-Devils and Leafs-Lightning will be like two Stanley Cup finals series. It's gonna be epic.

 

[Brobust]

Goalies aside, the Devils are better in every way. It really shouldn't be that big of a series unless Trouba does something stupid.

 

[mm11]

Should be fun. Rangers got some experience led by the vets, Devs have just about zero experience led by young stars. The vets with experience typically win these games. Should be fun and Madison Avenue will love it

 

[Pi]

This one isn't even close to being determined yet though. Carolina could easily fall out of 1st in the division. It's not like Boston's lead in the Atlantic where a match up between Tampa and Toronto is pretty much set.

 

[AfroThunder396]

The rangers did not need help at center. They needed RW and defense. They addressed one greatly, and did upgrade t 3ld which was but still is the weak spot.

The rangers center group is fine. It basically on par with the devils for the top 3 on each team.

My ranking:
Hughes
Zib
Hirsch
Troch
Chytil
Haula

So if the rangers need help at center. Then so do the devils. Basically, both are fine there.

Edit: if u are referring to help at centrr as in a player who can slide into top 3 in the event of an injury than i can see that. One injury and we could have problems at C. But when healthy it is fine

Zib is still very good, but 2023 Hughes is a tier higher than 2023 Zib.

Trochek is fine, but Hischier is pretty significantly better than him in all areas. Troch is also not the primary play driver on his line, he clearly benefits from Panarin more than Panarin benefits from him.

Chytil has been on a tear since the New Year's but he's been painfully mediocre the rest of his career. I put way more stock in the +270 games of "meh" than I put in the 20 games of "wow!" though I agree that he's overall better than Haula. But if NJ were to move Mercer back to 3C that would change in a hurry.

If the Rangers had gotten ROR and bumped Trochek down to 3C I would be absolutely terrified of them right now. Instead I see Zib, who is still good but not as good as he used to be, and then a bunch of guys. Instead they traded for a bunch of old, slow, aging wingers whose names are worth more than their contracts.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

I think this series will ultimately come down to which team can impose their will upon the other, if NYR can find a way to slow the Devils down and force them to defend, they'll win it.
If NJ can keep the speed up through the neutral zone and pressure their D, the Devils will win.

I tend to think it's a little easier to slow teams down as the zebras will probably put the whistles away like they usually do in the playoffs.

 

[HydratedByStormBrew]

Yeah, no guarantee Carolina wins the metro so it could very well be NYR-CAR in the 1st. As a Carolina fan, dislike.

NJ is dangerous but lacks playoff experience.

 

[DialUp]

If series is 4 or 5 games, Devils win. 6 or 7, Rangers win. This will be about coaching or lack thereof.

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

I think the Rangers come in this series with a significantly higher amount of pressure though. Losing to a rebuilding Devils team who has just turned the corner with its inexperienced core would be devastating for a team who has been seen as a contender for the last 3-4 years, nevermind the rivalry.

It’ll be an exciting series, that’s for sure.

Umm its 2023

4 years ago was 2019 - no playoffs
3 years ago was 2020- covid play in
2 years ago was 2021-no playoffs
Last year, yes playoffs but not a contender heading in.

So idk why people seem to think that its the old and grizzled Rangers vs a new team. The Rangers at this point last year had barely any experience either

 

[Brooklyndevil]

I have a lot of respect for Kane. He’s older now and let’s see how the hip holds up. Taranesko hasn’t really looked good. Basically, if you want to talk about loading up, we got the best bullet of them in Meier. I rather have him instead of the two Ranger pick ups. In saying that they will be favorites due to goaltending. I’m not concerned with the experience factor, the Rangers went pretty far last year without much experience. So, I don’t see it as a major factor. I still doubt Fritz is done. He said so himself.

 

[TheOrangeDesk]

On paper that Rangers team should wipe the floor with the Devils. Devils have been playing well this year though so idk

 

[Brooklyndevil]

On paper that Rangers team should wipe the floor with the Devils. Devils have been playing well this year though so idk

That’s a bold statement. We’ll see.

 

[Ruggs225]

Zib is still very good, but 2023 Hughes is a tier higher than 2023 Zib.

Trochek is fine, but Hischier is pretty significantly better than him in all areas. Troch is also not the primary play driver on his line, he clearly benefits from Panarin more than Panarin benefits from him.

Chytil has been on a tear since the New Year's but he's been painfully mediocre the rest of his career. I put way more stock in the +270 games of "meh" than I put in the 20 games of "wow!" though I agree that he's overall better than Haula. But if NJ were to move Mercer back to 3C that would change in a hurry.

If the Rangers had gotten ROR and bumped Trochek down to 3C I would be absolutely terrified of them right now. Instead I see Zib, who is still good but not as good as he used to be, and then a bunch of guys. Instead they traded for a bunch of old, slow, aging wingers whose names are worth more than their contracts.

Hughes is better than zib by about the same amount that zib is better than hirshier. Hughes clearly is best, zib is clearly second best.

Chytil has about the same stats than mercer, slightly better on a game basis actually, this year and is the driver of that line. I dont know why your opinion would change. Though for all intents and purposes it probably is about a wash between those two.

Trochek is trocheck. He is solidily above haula, chytil and mercer, but solidly below hughes, zib and hisher.

I am not seeing how either team can say they have the better group of top 3 centers. It really is basically a wash. Hughes has the ability to take over games more than anybody else, but he also is the most likely to get injured. Zib has the best one timer and is deadly on Pp.

Really these teams play completely different styles but are basically evenly matched . Even their goals scored and allowed are within 10 goals of each other.

And while the devils can skate circles around us, we are comfortable like that. For some unknown reason we are perfectly comfortable being outplayed and still win. Its what we do. Even on our winning streaks we kinda looked like shit. But we find ways to win.

This matchup is so even its not even funny. Even in goaltending this year unless Shesty gets his game back which if he does than is the only clear advantage one team can have.

Well other than coaching. Gallant is awful.

Edit: furthermore the series this year had basically been as close as possible. 2OT games and the other decided by 1 goal (and empty netter).

 

[TheOrangeDesk]

That’s a bold statement. We’ll see.

I ended my statement with "I don't know" so it can't be that bold lol

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Again, what are you basing this on? The Devils have better offensive numbers and defensive numbers than the Rangers this year.

Yes, I realize Shesterkin has the potential to be the best goalie in the world, but he has not been that guy this year.

Last season showed how good this Rangers team can be. Dont underestimate the valuable experience this Rangers team got going to the final 4 last year. Same coach, same team make up but with two all star wingers addedband a year wiser.

If the Rangers play like they did last playoffs, they will be very hard to beat.