Rangers - Devils will be a series for the ages

[mm11]

Palat has two cups of his own, and those cups are a little bit more recent than Kane and Tank.

Saying "injuries happen" is such a throwaway comment to describe facing a team's.... third (?) string goalie without their captain and best player for the majority of the series and still needing OT of Game 7 to advance.

Nobody is saying that the Rangers should apologize for winning that series, I was just wondering aloud if there would still be this idea that the Rangers are going to ragdoll the Devils if they hadn't faced an AHL goalie and Crosby-less Penguins team in the first round last year?

Certainly wont ragdoll the devs in this series. Palat was key to the Tampa runs and a real nice pick up for the Devs, but he lost some series as well, learning with the young Bolts a few years...

 

[TBF1972]

We are 2-0-1 against them this year and are higher in the standings as of now. Yeah I guess having more wins is being over-rated.

he should know. he is fan of the most overrated team

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Nope.

This series is going to be a Six-Gamer at least.

The same was said for FLA vs TB last year in round 2 and the Panthers got swept and outclassed in every category. Not saying that it will happen in NJ vs NYR series but highly skilled teams that tear it up in the regular season do run into brick walls every now and then come playoff time.

 

[TBF1972]

Regardless, the devils and rangers both being good and meeting in the playoffs is great for hockey despite how jumbled our stomachs will be the entire series.

not a bad thing. helps you stay awake until 2am.

How did the Devils do?

they won big time



the lottery

 

[MB3]

The same was said for FLA vs TB last year in round 2 and the Panthers got swept and outclassed in every category. Not saying that it will happen in NJ vs NYR series but highly skilled teams that tear it up in the regular season do run into brick walls every now and then come playoff time.

Florida was middle of the pack at best in terms of defense. Of the 16 playoff teams they ranked 14th in goals against in the regular season.

The Devils are currently 3rd in the NHL in terms of goals against.

The Devils aren’t the panthers from last year. And the Rangers are CERTAINLY not the Lightning lol.

 

[mm11]

Good debates. gonna be a heck of a series. Hopefully we get the chance to see it

 

[Brooklyndevil]

he should know. he is fan of the most overrated team

Are you talking about the Rock Stars, as Larry Brooks refers to them now.

 

[Voight]

Rangers have a substantially better roster

Tampa had a substantially better roster than Columbus in 2019.

 

[Ruggs225]

Wouldn’t that hurt the Rangers more given that NJ is a better 5v5 team and the Rangers are better on the PP?

Might be cliche, but think special teams might be the decider. The Devils have not capitalized on power play opportunities and the Rangers have a deadlier unit. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes.

Yes and no. Not having the PP hurts them, but a slower fame with more clutching and grabbing negating speed would hurt Nj. In the end it probably wont make much of a difference at all as long as refs call game consistently one way.

I honestly dont think the devils being a better 5v5 team makes much of a difference either. The rangers are odd in that they win still when being outplayed. They are just comfortable that way. I personally hate the way we play, but you cant ignore our record the last two years. This team finds ways to win.

But i would definitely like us to play more like NJD than how we currently play.

 

[Eggtimer]

Rangers have a substantially better roster

Substantially ? That’s news to me .

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Florida was middle of the pack at best in terms of defense. Of the 16 playoff teams they ranked 14th in goals against in the regular season.

The Devils are currently 3rd in the NHL in terms of goals against.

The Devils aren’t the panthers from last year. And the Rangers are CERTAINLY not the Lightning lol.

Let's see and hope NJ can carry over their success from this season to this playoffs. But nobody knows how their core will do in the playoffs. They will go through growing pains though and that's almost always tough series losses.

 

[Three On Zero]

Tampa had a substantially better roster than Columbus in 2019.

You would be correct

Substantially ? That’s news to me .

That's unfortunate, perhaps you should consider staying up to date with the current trades that have been happening.

 

[Eggtimer]

Who is to say that NJ won’t win the division ? Or even he Rangers ?
I hope we play the Rangers in the first round though because I think we match up very well against them.
It will be interesting to see if Luke can make a difference yet .

 

[NJDevils#4]

I hope they play each other in the playoffs, one way or another. That will be fantastic for hockey and for the area.

 

[glenwo2]

The same was said for FLA vs TB last year in round 2 and the Panthers got swept and outclassed in every category. Not saying that it will happen in NJ vs NYR series but highly skilled teams that tear it up in the regular season do run into brick walls every now and then come playoff time.

But again.... Devils are not the Panthers (who are not making the playoffs this season, btw) of yesteryear.

Apples and Oranges, if you will.

Devils will give the Rangers more problems than they expect and Ranger fans best not think this series will be an easy one.

In fact, I daresay that aside from Boston, this is the toughest matchup in the playoffs.

 

[TropicOfNoReturn]

The games have been very tight during the regular season, so it’ll be a good one for sure. Both lineups are pretty balanced, but of course Igor can win games by himself and the Rangers have more experience. My expectations for the Devils in the playoffs are pretty low considering the core is super young. They’re on their way, but they have to learn and gain experience like TB and COL had to do.

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.

Four years ago the Rangers were half a season into a rebuild after publishing a letter to the fan base about it.

Two years ago they were expected to miss the playoffs - and did.

They're really only one year ahead of the Devils in their respective rebuilds. The Rangers' just went a lot faster than average.

 

[ref19]

Gotta go Rangers in 5. Jersey’s lack of real high end talent outside of Hughes and the goaltending difference in the series.

 

[Basement Cat]

Gotta go Rangers in 5. Jersey’s lack of real high end talent outside of Hughes and the goaltending difference in the series.

"Real high-end" talent is equal or slightly in the Devils advantage in my opinion. Hughes/Nico/Bratt/Meier/Dougie vs Panarin/Zib/Kane/Fox ?

 

[TBF1972]

Four years ago the Rangers were half a season into a rebuild after publishing a letter to the fan base about it.

Two years ago they were expected to miss the playoffs - and did.

They're really only one year ahead of the Devils in their respective rebuilds. The Rangers' just went a lot faster than average.

we all remember the fastest rebuild followed by the shortest contention window and two lottery wins

 

[Wierzbowski426]

If the devils can stay out of the box, and shesterkin doesn't return to last years form I like the devils.

 

[bert]

NJ is quickly becoming overrated again. NYR is the better roster.

They are 3rd in the league add Meier and they are 'overrated again' what? I have no dog in this fight but this post makes no sense.

Also I cant imagine Palat isnt going to be in their top 6.

 

[TropicOfNoReturn]

we all remember the fastest rebuild followed by the shortest contention window and two lottery wins

The two lottery wins were part of the fast rebuild. Their contention window just opened last season. Are you saying it is about to be over?
Before this current contention window, the Rangers were a completive, contending team for several seasons. 2012 - 2017, or so.

 

[TBF1972]

It is different in that there are less penalties and more clutching and grabbing allowed. It definitely is more defensively oriented and the games are usually played at a slower and more cautious pace.

less penalties also means less pp opportunities for the rangers.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

"Real high-end" talent is equal or slightly in the Devils advantage in my opinion. Hughes/Nico/Bratt/Meier/Dougie vs Panarin/Zib/Kane/Fox ?

Pretty ignorant post regarding The Devils high end talent. Hughes and Meier are better talent wise than any forwards they have.

 

[TBF1972]

The two lottery wins were part of the fast rebuild. Their contention window just opened last season. Are you saying it is about to be over?
Before this current contention window, the Rangers were a completive, contending team for several seasons. 2012 - 2017, or so.

there were rangers fans proclaiming the fastest rebuild on the mainboard, when the rangers got trouba, fox and panarin in the off-season after the letter.