Rangers at Devils
THE STORY: Marian Gaborik spent the All-Star weekend engaged in some good-natured ribbing with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as the New York Rangers teammates were pitted on opposite teams in the annual mid-season exhibition. Gaborik got the final laugh, scoring two of his three goals against Lundqvist while adding an assist in earning Most Valuable Player honors. "It's always tough to score on him," said Gaborik of Lundqvist. "It's not easy. I was fortunate to be lucky against him, but I think he's one of the best if not the best goalie in the league." With the four-day break behind them, the duo has a more pressing issue to attend to – helping their team maintain the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers will kick start the season’s second half by making the short trip across the Hudson River to take on the rival New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus
ABOUT THE RANGERS (31-12-4): The Rangers closed the break with a pair of victories and will look to keep their winning ways going. The team’s first practice back showed that they certainly weren’t lacking sharpness. “I wanted to stop the practice after 20 minutes and bottle it, because I thought they were that good,” coach John Tortorella said Monday. The Rangers hold a two-point lead over Boston and a three-point edge over Philadelphia in the race for the East’s No. 1 seed.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (26-19-3): A season-long six-game homestand got off to a great start with a win over Winnipeg, but three straight losses heading into the break have sapped New Jersey of any momentum. The Devils, who have dropped six of eight meetings with the Rangers, hold the tiebreaker edge over Toronto for the final playoff spot in the East. Goaltender Martin Brodeur is 0-2-1 while allowing seven goals in his last three outings.
OVERTIME:
1. The teams will meet four times over the next 48 days.
2. Devils forward Patrik Elias has 12 points in his past nine outings.