G55 New Jersey Devils @ New York Rangers: Out for revenge

Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with our writers and subscribers.

---

The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have faced off only once thus far. It was a hard fought game where the latter ultimately prevailed in a shootout. The Devils will no doubt be looking to get on the right side of things as the two sides square off for the first time since November.

Some notes to get you set for the game:

The Devils have a real edge at 5v5

New York has a lot of things going for them. Igor Shesterkin is the best goaltender in the league – at least this season – and the top half of their roster has been very productive, particularly on the power play.

They have a clear Achilles heel, though, and that is their 5v5 play. The Rangers have spent a lot of time on the back foot this season and the last 10 games have been no different.

In that span, the Rangers have controlled 46.77% of the shot attempts (28th) and 47.08% of the scoring chances (24th) while coming out about even in expected goals; which is actually a step up from their usual results.

Even so, the Devils should be able to control the run of play in this game. They’re much more potent at 5v5.

Over the same spell, the Devils sit 11th in CF% and 12th in xGF%, controlling better than 52% of the latter.

Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier consistently drive play on their respective lines while, of late, Jesper Boqvist has had the third line humming more often than not.

I don’t think the Rangers can match up with the Devils at 5v5; their top-9 has too many holes. New Jersey will need to take advantage of that. The extra chances have to be in their pocket because there is no way Nico Daws or Jon Gillies can match Shesterkin if the workloads are remotely similar.