Faceoff Factor

Devils vs. Rangers: Game 1 Preview

Michael Farkas | National Hockey League

Apr 9, 01:09 AM | Hype this story!

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Devils (4) vs. Rangers (5) Conference Quarterfinals Preview
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Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist, individually, it’s a playoff matchup already in it’s second round. The first time around was a decided finish in favor of Martin Brodeur. The two teams have re-armed and drawn up new plans for game one of this Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series.

For the Rangers, this series means a chance to cash in. The money was flowing at a fevered pace during the offseason for the Broadway Blueshirts. Chris Drury, seemingly a “playoff specialist,” was among the additions. Scott Gomez, the former Devil, was the other big money free agent — the Prudential Center faithful won’t let him forget that any time soon.

The Devils are taking on the role of Terminator almost. No matter what happens, they keep coming back just as strong. Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko are lost to retirement, Brian Rafalski is lost to free agency, top line center Scott Gomez is lost in a similar fashion and yet the Devils keep coming back. The common denominator, as always, Martin Brodeur.

Game 1 (in more ways than one for the Prudential Center) will start at 7:00 in a series that Scott Gomez says, “It’s going to be a series where if you make that one mistake you’re going to be going home.”

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Team Numbers
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Standings
New Jersey: 46-29-7; 99 pts; 2nd Atlantic; 4th Eastern; 6th NHL
New York: 42-27-13; 97 pts; 3rd Atlantic; 5th Eastern; 9th NHL

Records
New Jersey: 25-14-2 at home; 21-15-5 on the road; 1-4-3 vs. NYR; 4-5-1 in last 10
New York: 25-13-3 at home; 17-14-10 on the road; 7-0-1 vs. NJ; 5-1-4 in last 10

Special Teams
New Jersey: PP, 15.6% (25th); PK, 82.8% (13th)
New York: PP, 16.5% (22nd); PK, 84.6% (6th)

Scoring
New Jersey: 206 GF (27th); 197 GA (4th)
New York: 213 GF (t-23rd); 199 GA (5th)

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Player Leaders
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Goals
New Jersey: Parise (32); Gionta (22); Elias (20)
New York: Jagr (25); Drury (25); Shanahan (23)

Assists
New Jersey: Elias (35); Parise (33); Gionta (31)
New York: Gomez (54); Jagr (46); Drury (33)

Points
New Jersey: Parise (65); Elias (55); Gionta (53)
New York: Jagr (71); Gomez (70); Drury (58)

Penalty Minutes
New Jersey: Clarkson (183); Asham (84); Brookbank (63)
New York: Orr (159); Avery (154); Hollweg (96)

Wins
New Jersey: Brodeur (44); Weekes (2)
New York: Lundqvist (37); Valiquette (5)
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Injuries
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New Jersey: No major injuries
New York: No major injuries

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Series Schedule
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All times are in EST.

Game 1: April 9 at 7:00 in NJ; TSN
Game 2: April 11 at 7:00 in NJ; TSN
Game 3: April 13 at 7:00 in NYR; TSN, Versus
Game 4: April 16 at 7:00 in NYR; TSN, Versus

Game 5: April 18 at 7:30 in NJ (if needed); TSN
Game 6: April 20 at TBD in NYR (if needed); TSN, Versus
Game 7: April 22 at TBD in NJ (if needed); TSN