2. Win the goalie battle
Everyone knows how good Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers is. He won the Vezina Trophy with no issue last season and led the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, this is not the last season. He still had a really good year, but he wasn’t an MVP candidate or anything like that as he was last year.
Vitek Vanecek and Igor Shesterkin haven’t been all that different this season. Shesterkin is still the better goaltender, but it isn’t like Vanecek can’t compete with him in this series. New Jersey needs their guy to be better for the duration of the series if they want to win it.
If they get past the Rangers, they still need to continue winning the goalie battle against everyone else they play. They don’t need him to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (although that would be nice), but they do need him to be better than the guy on the other side of the ice no matter what.
If the Devils get solid goaltending from Vanecek throughout the playoffs, they can win the Stanley Cup with him.