Listen, we get it. Nobody wants to give credit to the New York Rangers. We hate them. The fans just don’t get along with us (yes, it’s all their fault), and they act as if the New Jersey Devils were their little brother despite the fact we have three Stanley Cups since we came into existence in 1982 and they only have one in the same amount of time. However, despite our many differences, we have to give credit where credit is due. The Rangers are crushing it right now, fighting for the lead in the Metropolitan Division as we head into the halfway point of the 2021-22 season.
How did the Rangers get here?
The Goalies
This is the obvious one. Igor Shesterkin is not only one of the top Vezina Trophy candidates, but he is a legit candidate for the Hart Trophy naming the league MVP. Meanwhile, the Devils goalie situation is an injured Mackenzie Blackwood who couldn’t get on the ice for the second half of a back to back, Jonathan Bernier, who is out for the rest of the season, Jon Gillies, who played a game in the ECHL this season, and two young goalies who should spend the rest of the season in the AHL.
Clearly, the Rangers are further than the Devils in net by so very much. Not only do the Rangers have Shesterkin, but they also have Alexander Georgiev. They are both very good, and the Devils would even love to have Keith Kinkaid back at this point. That seems gross, but it’s the truth. The Devils can’t fix the goaltending situation overnight. They have to hope one of Nico Daws, Akira Schmid, Cole Brady, or Jakub Malek work out as well as Blackwood getting healthy.
Surprise Offense
The Rangers are getting huge seasons from Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome. Kreider is on pace for over 50 goals. That’s a ridiculous season from him, and he is earning every penny of a contract that appeared to be an overpayment from a rebuilding team. Meanwhile, Strome is finally coming into his own. He has 31 points in 38 games, and the Rangers fans should be happy with what they are getting. Add that into superstar performances from Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad, and the Rangers are rolling.
The Devils are getting those performances from Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, but outside of them there really aren’t the breakout stars. They are also missing the “superstars” to add to Bratt and Hughes. In fact, Hughes and Bratt probably are the stars, so the Devils need someone to break out beside them. Think Miles Wood or Pavel Zacha’s huge offensive seasons, only double their production.
Overcoming Failing Prospects
The Rangers rebuild was supposed to end when players like Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere turned into stars. Well, they are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and both those players have been bad. Lafreniere has eight goals, but when it’s added to just three assists, and it makes for 11 points at the halfway point of the season. No Rangers fan is happy with that. Meanwhile, Kakko is even worse with 5 goals in 37 games. He was supposed to be a sniper for the Rangers at this point, and they have to figure out what contract to give him when Hughes is getting $8 million across the Hudson despite being taken one spot before him.
The Devils have some struggling prospects, but not at this level. Alex Holtz didn’t turn into the superstar sniper in his first year, but the production from Dawson Mercer is making up for that. Honestly, the Devils don’t really have a problem with prospects unable to live up to previous hype outside of Ty Smith. The Devils youngest defenseman does need an intervention, but that can come in the offseason. Just let him play, get as much tape as possible, and hope the Devils coaching staff can get the best out of him in offseason training.
Gerard Gallant
Speaking of coaching, the Rangers are getting the best out of this roster thanks to one of the best in the business. Some will point out that the Devils interviewed Gerard Gallant in the same offseason they hired Lindy Ruff, but it doesn’t sound like the former Golden Knights and Panthers coach wanted to be the next coach of the Devils. However, the Devils need to find themselves someone who can get the most out of this team.
Lindy Ruff got a lot out of certain players, but the entire process isn’t working. It’s hard to say, but the Devils just don’t work. They get out to leads and lose constantly. That seems like a coaching issue, and it’s something the team on the other side of the river doesn’t have. Ruff is very good at coaching certain segments of the game, and he’s getting the best out of players like Bratt, Michael McLeod, and Wood. However, he hasn’t been able to overcome some unfortunate situations. The Devils have had two COVID outbreaks, they lost both their backup goalies in his two years as coach, Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Nico Hischier have all had major injuries during his tenure. He’s had a lot of bad luck, but he hasn’t done enough to overcome that.
Conclusion
The Rangers obviously got help with Panarin and Fox basically calling it New York or bust, and with a goalie who out of nowhere became a superstar. The Devils didn’t get that, but they did get Dougie Hamilton signing here long term. That was new. They also have Hughes growing into a star. They have a good roster here that they need two things to really get to the next level; coaching and goaltending. The coaching staff has had a lot to overcome, but it’s literally their job to overcome that. Also, the goaltending has been bad. If that’s because Blackwood is hurt, then that’s on the coaching staff, too. They needed to find someone else who could do the job if Blackwood couldn’t. Instead, they rode his bum heel into the ground.
We’ll see if the Devils can make this better in the offseason. Many of us forget that in 2017-18, the Devils were actually fighting for the top spot in the division in November and December before a few injuries caused them to fall down the standings. Sometimes things just fall into place, and as far as it seems like it is, the Devils aren’t as far away from the Rangers than it seems.