The New York Rangers did not get off to the start they wanted this season in the NHL, but the team has played much better as of late and now they will put that to the test against a division rival in the New Jersey Devils, who will visit Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night starting up at 7:00 PM and streaming online from NHL.com.
The Rangers are coming off of a nice win against the Panthers at home on Sunday and the team has been scoring much more over the past few games than earlier in the season and they will have a tough test on Tuesday against a struggling Devils team, as games at MSG are always a battle between the two rivals. The Rangers started the season with a horrible stretch and now they are looking to win their fourth straight game and one of the main reasons for their strong play has been the performance of goalie Henrik Lundqvist, as he has won four of his last five games and has a paltry 1.41 goals-against average in that span. Brad Richards has come on over the past two weeks and they should face off against Martin Brodeur on Tuesday, making it a classic style game between the two teams.
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The Rangers have already lost in bad fashion to the Devils after coming back from a bad west coast road trip to start the season, dropping the game 4-0 and now they will have the team at the Garden, where the Rangers play much better overall and that game saw new goaltender Cory Schneider get in the net, but it will be an all classic rivalry game on Tuesday, as Marty Brodeur will face off against the team once again and that is a very familiar sight for the Rangers to see. The team has been able to pull over .500 and they face a Devils team that is playing well in the short term, as they are coming off of a nice 5-0 win over the Predators and that could set up a nice scoring matchup between the two teams on Tuesday night.
Brad Richards has been playing much better as of late as well with 15 points to lead the team and he is also tops in assists and goals with nine and six, while Carl Hagelin has been solid for the plus minus lead and with the team playing better overall, it is a big game they need to win against the Devils at home. The team has been moving up in the standings since starting off terribly and now the Rangers are third in the Atlantic division with 18 points, sitting behind just the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team is scoring just over two goals per game and is allowing that as well and the game on Tuesday night likely will be decided by whichever goalie is sharpest.
The Devils could be a bit tired after playing three games in four days and the team has been struggling on offense, scoring the least amount of goals in the league. The Rangers have played much better on the power play over the past few games, converting on six of 24 chances in the past seven games and that could play a factor on Tuesday night as well. The Rangers have won three games in a row, scoring 13 goals combined in wins over the Penguins, Blue Jackets and the Panthers and that pulled them over .500 and the last time the team lost was back against the Anaheim Ducks in early November. The two teams will face off at MSG starting up at 7:00 pm on Tuesday with the Devils and the Rangers.