Goalies Will Be Key in Hudson River Showdown

On Sunday night, the Rangers traveled to New Jersey to take on the Devils in what may well have been a first-round playoff preview. If the postseason began today, the Rangers would hold the third seed and the Devils the sixth, setting up some very compelling scenarios.For one thing, the last time the Rangers won a playoff series was against the Devils in the second round of the 1997 playoffs. In total, the Hudson River rivals have met three separate times in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the Rangers emerging victorious all three times.Of course, the most memorable playoff series between the two teams took place in 1994, when they met in the Eastern Conference Finals. The end finally came when the Rangers’ Stephane Matteau buried a wraparound goal past Martin Brodeur in double overtime of Game 7 to send the Blueshirts on to the Cup finals.Indeed, the Rangers’ postseason success against New Jersey is the overriding reason why a derisive “Rangers suck” chant is heard at virtually every Devils home game,even during Game 7 of the 2003 Cup Finals, when the Rangers had long since abandoned their hockey sticks for golf clubs.Twelve years after that classic 1994 series, Brodeur remains between the pipes for the Devils, but Sergei Brylin is the only other remaining member of that New Jersey team. As for the Rangers, it’s an entirely clean slate – not a single member of the 1994 championship squad remains.For the Rangers, Sunday represented an opportunity to see what happens when teams fail to exercise discipline against the Devils.As the NHL’s least-penalized team, the Devils have made a living during the past decade out of capitalizing on opponents’ mistakes.On Sunday, a pair of undisciplined plays by Rangers grinder Ryan Hollweg – the first un-penalized, the second earning him a five-minute major penalty for charging – forced the Rangers to play shorthanded for a long portion of the second period. And though the Blueshirts didn’t give up a power play goal while Hollweg served his time, the effect of the penalty was quite extraordinary.For one thing, it ensured that Hollweg would be tethered to the bench for most of the remainder of the game; by the end, his total ice time (4:52) was far exceeded by his time in the penalty box (7:00). For another, it meant the three-line Rangers would be a lot more tired than the fourline Devils when the third period came around.Sure enough,the Rangers squandered their 2-1 lead in the final stanza and fell 3-2, with the final Devils goal coming on the power play while Rangers winger Martin Straka was off the ice serving a hooking penalty.It’s readily apparent that the Blueshirts will need to stay out of the penalty box if they’re to succeed against New Jersey. While the Devils’ 81.9% success rate in killing penalties is only 19th best, only the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres have given up fewer power play goals than have the Devils (62). The reason is quite simple: New Jersey has been shorthanded only 339 times thus far this year, while 27 of the NHL’s 29 other teams have been shorthanded 416 times or more.There is no reason to think the NHL will relax its stringent restrictions on obstruction and interference during the postseason, and those penalties are, by and large, the result of laziness and exhaustion. In the Rangers’ case, laziness has not been a problem, but in games like Sunday’s, when they spend large amounts of time shorthanded, exhaustion is a major factor.Of course, there’s another important story to Sunday’s game,and that’s the absence of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Currently out with a hip flexor, the Swedish sensation is expected back well in advance of the playoffs.At even strength and on the power play, the differences between Lundqvist and backup Kevin Weekes aren’t very significant. But when the Rangers are shorthanded, things change dramatically, and it becomes apparent that Lundqvist is without question the Blueshirts’ most important penalty killer. Lundqvist is, in fact, the NHL’s best starting goaltender while shorthanded, while Weekes is average at best.The Blueshirts were also without Martin Rucinsky against the Devils; he is still recovering from a fractured finger. This season, Rucinsky has emerged as one of the Rangers’ most important players. But for injuries, the 13-year NHL veteran would have set career highs in virtually every key offensive statistic. And as it is, his 55 points (in 52 games) are fourth best on the Rangers.On Sunday, the Devils had their way against the Rangers for a litany of reasons. But given the teams’ respective performances this year, it isn’t a stretch to say that the Rangers remain a good distance ahead of their rivals. For the Blueshirts, defeating the Devils in a seven-game playoff series is simply a matter of sticking to their game plan and having Lundqvist between the pipes. If they do that, it’s a safe bet that the Rangers will retain their postseason dominance over the Devils this spring.Mr. Greenstein is the Editor in Chief of InsideHockey.com.

Goalies Will Be Key in Hudson River Showdown

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