5 New York Rangers Players New Jersey Devils Must Keep Quiet To Win Series
The New Jersey Devils did what felt impossible: evening the series with the New York Rangers. They still need to prepare for the next three games if they want to advance to the second round.
It was glorious. Seeing the New Jersey Devils fight back when down, crawling their way to a 2-2 tie with their Hudson River Rivals, the New York Rangers was incredible. There is no taste in this world better than Rangers fan tears.
Still, this series is far from over. In fact, it’s tied. The Devils beat the Rangers by inches. Literally, if the Rangers had a puck or two go inches in another direction, this series could be over. Instead, it goes back to Jersey as a three-game series.
If the Devils are going to win this series, it comes down to stopping the stars. They can’t make Shesterkin any less great, but they showed they could stop the Rangers’ offense. That can’t stop, and it can’t keep coming down to Akira Schmid. The Devils’ defense has to keep the Rangers’ offensive weapons off the board. It all starts with the biggest thorn in their side.
1. Chris Kreider
Chris Kreider was the best player in the series in Games 1 and 2. He scored four power-play goals on his own. All four came in some form of a tip. He was always in the right place at the right time. The Devils needed to stop the Rangers power play specifically because of what Kreider was doing to them.
Kreider is still one of the best Rangers in Games 3 and 4. He was on the ice for both Rangers goals, scoring one of them. Only he and Patrick Kane were on the ice for both Rangers goals. He was on the ice for two Devils goals, too, but the Rangers got nothing going offensively. They needed Kreider to be at his best. If the Devils can hold him to a limited output, it can win them this series.
2. Adam Fox
If the series MVP wasn’t Chris Kreider, then it was Rangers defenseman Adam Fox. He was on the ice for eight Rangers goals in the first two games. His six assists are third in the league going into Tuesday’s games. Fox has been all over the ice, stealing pucks in the offensive zone to keep chances alive.
Fox is also directly responsible for keeping power play opportunities going. There were a few times where the Devils tried to get the puck out of the zone, but Fox was at the right place at the right time. He’s a savant at keeping the puck in the zone.
This is one of the best players in the league. The Devils can’t completely discount Fox’s contributions, but they can at least keep the defenseman playing defense. The Devils need to avoid as many defensive zone faceoffs where Gerard Gallant can start his star blueliners in a scoring position. Fox has had 44 offensive zone faceoffs, the most among all Rangers (Kreider was second).
Rangers Coach Gallant has been deploying Fox more often in the offensive zone when the Rangers need him most. He had 25 offensive zone faceoffs over the last two games. He only had 17 defensive zone faceoffs and eight in the neutral zone. Fox is a superstar, and the Devils must ensure he only flashes greatness in the defensive zone.
3. Artemi Panarin
Artemi Panarin has been an MVP candidate for the Rangers, a superstar who jumped on the bandwagon while the Rangers were coming out of their rebuild. He’s still one of the best wingers in the league, coming off a season with 92 points. He was great this year, but he hasn’t been great in the series.
Despite the Rangers scoring 12 goals this series, Panarin has just two points. He hasn’t scored a goal in four games. He only has two assists. Both assists came in the first game. Actually, it was the first two games of the series. It’s been north of 70 minutes since Panarin recorded a point.
Panarin has had his issues this series. He gave away the puck four times but had zero takeaways. It’s probably more than that, but giveaways is a complicated stat. Panarin hasn’t been the master at handling the puck this series, especially in two games at MSG.
It just takes one goal to get Panarin going. He’s still steeped in his prime. Once a goal comes, they could come in bunches. The Devils can’t compete with bunches of goals when the goalie on the other side is Shesterkin. Panarin is still a superstar that the Devils have to spend a lot of time focusing on.
4. Filip Chytil
The “Kid Line” was the Rangers best line on Monday night. When they were out there, there was a clear change of pace. Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, and Alexis Lafreniere were all supposed to be first and second-line forwards. There’s still time for them to make that a reality, but they are the change of pace line for now.
They did their exact job on Monday. The Kid Line had the best xGF of any Rangers line. They did allow two high-danger chances, but just about everybody did that. Gallant even gave them the most time as a line, 10 minutes at even strength.
Of the three young players, Chytil should be the one that scares Devils fans most. It’s ironic since the other two were first and second-overall picks, but Chytil established himself as a good player. He had 22 goals this season, and he seems to be the one that drives that line.
Chytil gets going, and the entire Kid Line gets going. That entire line will follow his lead. The Devils cannot let him get there. They played a dangerous game with this line in Game 4. Let that be a lesson. They can be dangerous offensively. The Devils need to swallow them up.
5. Mika Zibanejad
The Rangers top center is between a pair of stars in Panarin and Vladimir Tarasenko. This line has been an overall disappointment in MSG. Things have not gone well at 5v5, where Zibanejad has allowed 12 high-danger chances and only had seven. He’s near the bottom of the team in terms of HDCF%.
Zibanejad is trying to lift the Rangers offense from the top, but he hasn’t done a good enough job. Like Panarin, if he gets confidence, that will change quickly. It could be as simple as his next goal that could turn this drip into a faucet.
Speaking of goal, his next goal will be his first of the playoffs. Imagine if we told you the Rangers would have 10 goals through two games, four on the power play, and Panarin and Zibanejad would have zero through four games. The top line needs to step up for the Rangers, but the Devils need to stop that from happening.
If the Devils allow the top line to get going, this series is over. We cannot stress how the Devils need to win this with defense. Shesterkin isn’t pulling a stinker anytime soon. If the Devils allow the top line to score, the Devils need to match that. It’s asking too much, so the best route forward is to stop them entirely.