New Jersey
Devils, Rangers Battle in Hudson River Rivalry | PREVIEW | New Jersey Devils
THE SCOOP
The Devils continue their march to a berth in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. The club has a solid hold of the No. 3 spot in the Metro Division. A victory against the Rangers would almost lock in a spot for New Jersey, which has a magic number of seven. The Devils face the Rangers following a four-day break in their schedule, a rarity at this time of year. The Devils entered the break winning three of their last four games.
New Jersey will be without superstar Jack Hughes for the rest of the year. Following shoulder surgery, he is unavailable until next season. Defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler are both out for the rest of the regular-season, though Hamilton has begun skating.
In Hughes’ absence, forward Jesper Bratt has stepped up offensively to fill the void. Bratt has a single-season team-record 66 assists and personal career high of 86 points. He has 16 points (3g-13a) in his last 11 games. Captain Nico Hischier, who has four goals in his past two games which included his second career hat trick, paces the team with 34 goals. The Devils have five 20-goal scorers on the team with Hischier, Hughes, 27, Timo Meier, 22, Bratt, 20, and Stefan Noesen, 20.
Defensively, Luke Hughes has elevated his game of late. He leads all blueliners with 41 points on seven goals and 34 assists. Hughes’ 34 helpers ranks third on the team overall and best among defensemen. Goalie Jacob Markstrom has refound his game following a return from an MCL injury. He has won his last three starts and is 3-0-1 in his past four outings.
The Rangers are battling for their playoff lives. They currently are on the outside of the bubble with 79 points (as of Friday). They’re two points behind Montreal for the final Wild Card spot with both teams having played 75 games.
The Rangers are led by Artemi Panarin’s 34 goals, 48 assists and 82 points. Vincent Trocheck (22) and Chris Kreider (20) have each cracked the 20-goal mark. Recently returned JT Miller has 19 goals and 61 points, which ranks second on the club. Defenseman Adam Fox has 47 assists on the year, ranking fifth among all NHL blueliners. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, a two-time NHL Goalie of the Year, has struggled in net. He’s 25-26-5 on the year with a 2.86 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. Those numbers are the worst of his career.
New York’s power play has struggling, converting only 17.4-percent of its chances to rank 27th in the NHL, however the PK unit is 6th with an 81.7-percentsuccess rate.
WHO’S HOT
Devils: Defenseman Luke Hughes has six points (1g-5a) in his past three games, and eight points (1g-7a) in his last five contests.
Rangers: Artemi Panarin has a three-game scoring streak with seven total points (3g-4a). That includes a three-point night (1g-2a) against Minnesota on Wednesday.
INJURIES
Devils: J.Hughes (shoulder, LTIR), Siegenthaler (undisclosed, LTIR), Hamilton (undisclosed, week-to-week), Glass (undisclosed)
Rangers: Edstrom (lower-body), Kaliyev (upper-body), Rempe (upper-body)
REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS