The New Jersey Devils travel across the Hudson River for their first matchup of the year with the New York Rangers.
Tale of the Tape
Record: 7-4-2 (16 points, 5th in Metro)
The Opponent: New York Rangers (8-3-3) – FHN Blog: 30 on Broadway OT
Puckdrop: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Expected Goaltenders: Mackenzie Blackwood (2-0-1) vs. Igor Shesterkin (7-2-2)
Television Broadcasts: MSG, MSG+
New York Rangers
The Rangers are off to a blistering start to the season. With eight wins in their first 14 games, New York currently sits third in the Metropolitan Division.
There is a little bit of uncertainty in net tonight for the Rangers. In last night’s victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, goaltender Igor Shesterkin left the game because of an injury. Alexander Georgiev played the remaining 6:45 for the Blueshirts.
Head coach Gerard Gallant said after the game that Shesterkin avoided injury and implied that he could start on consecutive days.
Shesterkin is off to an amazing start this year. The 25-year-old year old goaltender has recorded seven wins in 11 starts with 2.46 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils saw their three-game win streak come to an end yesterday as they suffered a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins. Outside of the Andreas Johnsson, Dawson Mercer, and Jesper Bratt trio, the Devils were not able to get anything going offensively. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 31 of 35 shots in the loss.
New Jersey will turn back to goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood for tonight’s game. Blackwood last started against the New York Islanders on Thursday. In that game, Blackwood stopped all 42 Islander shots in his first shutout of the season.
Player to Watch: Dawson Mercer
Mercer dazzled in yesterday’s loss to the Bruins. The 20-year-old continued his impressive rookie season by recording a goal and assist bringing his point streak to three games.
Expect the Devils’ coaching staff to rely on Mercer and his linemates to continue what they’ve been doing by driving play and creating scoring opportunities.
Mercer gets his first chance to matchup against fellow 2020 first-round pick Alexis Lafrenière. Both players were stars in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and get their first chance to go against each other in the Hudson River Rivalry.
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