PHR Playoff Primer: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers

With the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs just a few days away, PHR makes its first foray into playoff series analysis with our 2023 Playoff Primers. Where does each team stand in their series, and what storylines could dominate on and off the ice? We begin our look with the Metropolitan Division matchup between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.

There was a time in the 1990’s where it seemed like the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils would meet in the playoffs every spring. Now in 2023, they meet in the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The last time the two teams met it was a dramatic back and forth six game Eastern Conference Finals series that ended with an Adam Henrique overtime goal to catapult the Devils into the Stanley Cup Finals.

What a difference a decade plus makes. The Devils haven’t won a series since that dramatic overtime victory, while the Rangers have won a lot of playoff hockey but haven’t been able to capture hockey’s ultimate prize. The battle of the Hudson River has always been a bitter rivalry, but it’s been a while since so much has been on the line for both teams.

The Devils and Rangers enter the playoffs poised to make a deep run, but only one will be able to escape the first round. This matchup may not be the most anticipated series in the first round, but it does seem like the series most likely to produce fireworks. The Devils believe they are destined for greatness, and they probably are, but will that happen this year, or will the Rangers make another deep playoff run?

Regular Season Performance

New Jersey Devils: 52-22-8, 112 points, +65 goal differential
New York Rangers: 47-22-13, 107 points, +58 goal differential.

Head-To-Head

November 28, 2022: New York 3, New Jersey 5

December 12, 2022: New York 4, New Jersey 3 (OT)

January 7, 2023: New Jersey 4, New York 3 (OT)

March 30, 2023: New Jersey 2, New York 1

New Jersey takes the season series 3-0-1

Team Storylines

The Devils and Rangers franchises have had so much in common over the years, and even still do to some degree. Both franchises loaded up for these playoffs, can score in bunches and expect to go deep in the playoffs. But that is where the similarities end. They are built differently, have different experience, and have different strengths and weaknesses.

New Jersey plays with a ton of speed and skill, they push the pace and come at you in waves. But they are small. New York on the other hand plays big, they come at you with force and can crash over top of you. But they play slow in comparison. In a seven-game series it’s hard to predict who will bend first, will New York wear New Jersey down with their physicality? Or will the Devils tire out the Rangers with their pace? Advantage New Jersey.

On the backend, both teams boast strong blue lines. They both have shutdown defenseman, puck movers, point producers, speed, skill, and grit. The Rangers defense can do it all, they are one of the most elite units in the league, if not the most elite. They can’t move the puck quite as good as the Devils unit can, but they are much more physical. And in the playoff’s physicality can sometimes mean getting that extra inch of space to make a play, or providing that big hit that completely changes a series, just ask Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Advantage New York.

In goal, the comparisons dry up. New York boasts arguably the best goaltender in the world in Igor Shesterkin. But, after having a historic season last year, Shesterkin has looked human for much of this year. He has been up and down, evidenced by his drop in save percentage from .935 last year to .916 this season. For the Rangers to beat the Devils in a seven-game series, Shesterkin will need to play at a Vezina award winning level. Over in the Devils net Vitek Vanecek has given the Devils something they were desperately looking for, league average goaltending. Vanecek’s save percentage this year was .911 which was just a tick above his career average coming into this season. While Vanecek has never had an experience like this before and will have to deal with nerves, Shesterkin looked very human in last year’s playoffs and for long stretches of this past regular season. Despite his up and down play this year, one would have to believe that the goaltending advantage belongs to New York.

I mentioned star power earlier and both teams boast a ton of it up front and on the back end. The stars aren’t all home grown either, both teams have made significant trades over the last 12 months to bring in major pieces that they hope can give them that final push. The Rangers brought in Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko at the trade deadline, and while neither player his lit up the scoresheet, they have both provided secondary scoring. Kane has produced 12 points in 19 games since joining the Rangers, while Tarasenko has 21 points in 31 games. On the Devils side, they acquired arguably the biggest piece at the deadline in Timo Meier. Meier has also struggled to fit in but seems to be finally finding his footing. The former San Jose Shark has 14 points in 21 games since joining the Devils.

Ironically, the line that could set these teams apart might be a group of homegrown talent for the New York Rangers. Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko were dynamite together in the playoffs last season, particularly in the first round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were a difference maker on a nightly basis. This season all three players have hovered around the 40-point mark during the regular season. If the trio can dial it back to 2022 and produce anything close to last year’s playoff magic it could be the difference between a Rangers series win, or a Devils series win.

Prediction

It’s hard to predict who will win a series when the teams are this evenly matched. When a matchup like this does occur, you must imagine that it will come down to whichever team can get their goaltender on a heater. Last year the Rangers outlasted Pittsburgh because the Penguins had to rely on their third string goaltender. This year they’ll have to hope that Shesterkin can return to his Vezina winning form to get past the Devils.

The other element that comes into play is experience. New York has a ton of experienced playoff performers, and the Devils are green. In a toss-up, this could be the piece that pushes one team past the other.

The prediction: Rangers win in seven games.