Breaking Down New Jersey Devils-New York Rangers Matchup Position By Position

The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers will face off for the last time this season. Well, this will be their last regular-season matchup. The Devils and Rangers are likely going to face off in the playoffs. Thursday’s matchup is incredibly important, with second place in the Metropolitan Division on the line. The Devils are two points ahead of the Rangers, but they are tied in regulation wins. The winner of Thursday’s matchup will officially take the lead over the rivals.

The Devils are 2-0-1 against the Rangers this season. They’ve never lost to them in regulation. However, this is a different set of teams. The two teams haven’t faced off since the Rangers got Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, and the Devils got Timo Meier (and Curtis Lazar, but he’s injured right now).

So, which team has the advantage? Let’s break down the matchup position by position.

Top Forward Line

Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

vs.

Artemi Panarin – Mika Zibanejad – Vladimir Tarasenko

The Devils and Rangers both have incredible top lines that don’t hurt the depth. They both have midseason superstar acquisitions on the wing. The centers are two-way dynamos. Dawson Mercer has been awesome, while Panarin is a former MVP candidate.

Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer are a new line. They’ve only played 21 minutes together. Lindy Ruff has been scrambling the lines a ton. Meier hasn’t been able to stick to one line. However, these three are amazing on their own. Together, they should be sick. In those 21 minutes, the Devils have dominated. They control 61 percent of chances, had 80 percent of high-danger chances, and the xGF% is 80.72.

Meanwhile, the Rangers top line is much more established. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Vladimir Tarasenko have played 115 minutes together. They are actually getting dominated in possession, but they are making the most of their opportunities. Despite giving up 60 percent of the chances while on the ice, they’ve scored 11 goals together while their opponents only scored six. Their on-ice shooting percentage is north of 21 percent. Will that last? It’s working for now, but they are playing a dangerous game.

For now, it’s pretty even. The Devils line is new, and Meier has great numbers with poor results. The Rangers line has been together much longer, but the analytics shows a drop off in the future. However, they are scoring, and that’s what matters. This feels like over a seven-game series, this will be a slight Devils win.

(All stats via Natural Stat Trick.)

Advantage: Devils

Second Forward Line

Ondrej Palat – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt

vs. 

Chris Kreider – Vincent Trochek – Patrick Kane

The Devils second forward line is still full of scoring power. Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes has as much skill as any young forward twosome. Hughes was in the MVP race at one point this season. He’s slowed down significantly, but he’s still one of the most dynamic players in the league. Adding Bratt to his line should help, although they’ve struggled as linemates in the past. Now with Palat, something feels off. They basically have similar possession as their opponents when on the ice. They’ve scored just one more goal than their opponents in 58 minutes despite a 17% shooting percentage, which is well above average.

Meanwhile, Chris Kreider isn’t having the same scoring season as he had last year, but he still has 32 goals this season. He’s playing with an injury-riddled Patrick Kane and recent signing Vincent Trochek, which seems like a very large drop off to Hughes and Bratt. However, they’ve contributed.

If this was a “right now” list, it feels like the slightest of advantage for the Rangers. This is only because of Jack Hughes’s slump (relatively). However, there’s nobody on the Rangers who can play like Hughes. He’s a top-10 player in the NHL. Jesper Bratt is a top-50 player. There’s nothing the Rangers have outside the top line that can compare.

Advantage: Devils

Bottom Six

Tomas Tatar – Erik Haula – Jesper Boqvist
Miles Wood – Michael McLeod – Yegor Sharangovich

vs. 

Alexis Lafreniere – Filip Chytil – Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey – Barclay Goodrow – Tyler Motte

Injuries have really impacted the Devils bottom six. They are currently without Nathan Bastian and Curtis Lazar, two players who really gel in this lineup. Bastian has been great throughout the season. Lazar was great for the few games where he actually played. He dealt with visa issues, and now he has a long-term injury.

So, the Devils have Tomas Tatar lifting the line with Erik Haula and Jesper Boqvist. Meanwhile, the fourth line is playing well, but it’s not like it’s anything to go home about.

The Rangers Kid Line has famously brought out the best from the three exciting prospects. Filip Chytil just signed a four-year deal, so there will be momentum for that line. Alexis Lafreniere has shown flashes, but fact is, he has 36 points this season despite playing almost every game. Kaapo Kakko has looked much better, but he also has only 36 points.

The Rangers’ bottom line has some skill with Jimmy Vesey (who was at one point a first liner) and Barclay Goodrow. This is good depth for both sides. However, the Kid Line seems to move this toward the Rangers ever so slightly.

Advantage: Rangers

Defensive Depth

Graves – Marino
Bahl – Severson

vs.

K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Ben Harpur – Braden Schneider

The Devils line of Ryan Graves and John Marino has struggled. However, there is immense talent there. Graves might be dealing with an injury, or Marino might be a little in his own head. As soon as they figure out the issues, they might be a really good pairing. For now, we only know them as struggling. However, Damon Severson might be the best third-line defenseman in the league. He was just named the second-best upcoming free agent in the league. Kevin Bahl has been really good as well. The total depth of the Devils defense is really good overall.

K’Andre Miller is a really good young defenseman. Jacob Trouba can still hit as well as anyone in the league, although he often goes over the line. Braden Schneider is another young defenseman with a bright future. He’s alright right now, but he will eventually be quite good. Ben Harpur, not so much.

The Devils have much better depth on its defense. This is actually one of the Rangers’ weaknesses. They allow way too many high-danger chances. The only reason they don’t go in is because of our next category. We’ll get there in a moment, but for now, the Devils take advantage of the matchup here.

Advantage: Devils

Goalie

Vitek Vanecek 

vs.

Igor Shesterkin

This one seems like an open and shut case. The New York Rangers have one of the best goaltending options in the league. The Devils went out of their way to get league average goaltending. Right now, the Devils can’t commit totally to Vitek Vanecek as its playoff starter. He’s played more games than he’s ever played in his career. Would it be crazy to think Mackenzie Blackwood or Akira Schmid could steal the starters net?

Meanwhile, Igor Shesterkin is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. He was by far the best goalie in the league last season. He’s not exactly there this season, but he’s easily in the top ten. This is an easy win for the Rangers.

Advantage: Rangers

At the end, it’s three to three. It all comes down to the coaching staff. Can Lindy Ruff outduel his former team? Is Gerard Gallant ready to get the best out of his talent pool? There is a lot up in the air, but it seems these two teams are evenly matched. It will lead to a phenomenal first-round series. My goodness, we hope we come out on top. We cannot handle a full year of insults for losing to the Rangers of all teams in our return to the postseason.