The New York Rangers have been in the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern conference for most of the season and on Sunday they have a chance to knock out one of the teams chasing them in the New Jersey Devils when they face off at Madison Square Garden, one day after the Knicks defeated the Celtics in the NBA Playoffs.
Last season the Devils eliminated the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals to stop them from reaching the Stanley Cup round for the first time since New York won it all in 1994 and now the team is looking to try to make it that far two years in a row while leaving the Devils at home. The other New York team in the Islanders is ahead of the Rangers by three points with just a week remaining in the season and the Rangers are trying to stay ahead of the Jets in the standings, as they are one point back.
The Devils have only missed the playoffs once since 1996, but after a slow start and an injury to Martin Brodeur, New Jersey struggled and couldn't recover, while also dealing with a 10 game losing streak at one point. The team has won two in a row, but they are facing a Rangers squad with some momentum, as the team has been scoring in bunches with 14 in the past two games, a record amount since 2010 for the franchise. Brad Richards appears to be heating up after scoring a hat trick and adding four over the past two games, including his first three goal game on Friday. The Rangers enter the matchup after a 6-1 win against the Panthers and now they will try to ensure their rivals are home for the playoffs.
The Rangers have gone undefeated in four games at MGG over the past month and the team has been scoring over double than their opponents as they make the push to the playoffs. The Rangers were first in the conference last season and had high expectations this year but could not play consistently and ended up trading away superstar Marian Gaborik to the Blue Jackets. The team has relied heavily on Rick Nash and Richards and both players have been hot lately.
The Devils are ranked 26th in scoring and 13th in goals against while ranking 22nd in power play percentage and 18th in penalty kill percentage. The team has 44 points and are 17-17-10, while the Rangers are 23-17-4 with 50 points. The Rangers are ranked 17th in scoring and fourth in goals against while 21st in power play percentage and 16th in penalty kill percentage.
