Rangers at Devils
THE STORY:
The New York Rangers make the short trip across the Hudson River to
take on divisional-rival New Jersey on Tuesday. The teams have split
four meetings this season, which each winning once on home ice. The
Rangers have won nine of their last 13 contests to soar to the top of
the league. The Devils have won only once in their last six games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG 2 (Rangers), MSG Plus (Devils)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (42-15-7):
The Rangers begin a three-game road trip after defeating the Boston
Bruins on Sunday to move into first place in the NHL standings with 91
points. New York travels to Ottawa on Thursday and to Chicago on Friday.
Forward Marian Gaborik has been red hot in the second half of the
season. The Czech leads the team with 32 goals and 58 points and is
averaging more than a point per game in his last 22 contests.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (36-24-5):
The Devils play four divisional games this week starting Tuesday
against the Rangers. New Jersey plays back-to-back games against the New
York Islanders on Thursday and Saturday and squares off with the
Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. The Devils sit sixth in the Eastern
Conference. Forward Ilya Kovalchuk has gone nine games without a goal,
but has six assists over that stretch.
OVERTIME:
1. Devils defenseman Andy Greene (back spasms) and
winger Alexei Ponikarovsky (right knee) missed Sunday’s game against the
New York Islanders. They are day-to-day.
2. The Rangers are 30-1-3 when scoring first this season.
3.
New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is 11-2-1 with a 1.55 goals
against average, .943 save percentage and four shutouts in his last 14
games.