Photo: LoHud
As the Rangers keep rolling, the bad teams keep coming to town. This time it’s the Devils, who beat a dysfunctional Rangers team in the seventh game of the season. Fast forward to Game #18, and this is a different Rangers team looking to prey on a Devils club that is –for all intents and purposes– 5-12 (5-7-5). The Devils simply cannot score goals, and have a worse goal differential than the Rangers, even when you include New York’s -13 against Anaheim and San Jose. Of course, this didn’t stop the Devils from embarrassing the Rangers last time they met.
As noted in the previous game thread, the Devils use two separate forechecking systems. In the early going the Devils play a 2-1-2 forecheck, but once the Devils get a lead, they switch forechecking strategies to a 1-2-2 hybrid trap. In the defensive zone, the Devils play an overload/low zone collapse style similar to what the Rangers want to execute. On special teams, the Devils play your standard umbrella powerplay. On the penalty kill, the Devs play a rotation between a box and a diamond, depending on puck location and the setup of the opposition.
Rangers Lineup:
Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Carl Hagelin–Brad Richards–Ryan Callahan
Derick Brassard-Brian Boyle-Benoit Pouliot
Brandon Mashinter-Derek Dorsett-J.T. Miller
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto-John Moore
Henrik Lundqvist gets the start
PP1: Del Zotto-Richards, Kreider-Stepan-Brassard
PP2: McDonagh-J. Moore, Pouliot-Callahan-Zuccarello
Scratches: Rick Nash (concussion), Dominic Moore (oblique), Taylor Pyatt (concussion), Justin Falk (healthy)
Game time is 7pm tonight. Don’t forget to check out our Rangers Tickets link for deals to attend games.
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