First Round | BIG READ

The Hudson River Rivalry returns when the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers collide in the First Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The rivalry dates back to 1982 when the Devils relocated from Colorado to New Jersey. And while there was some bad blood early, things really started to take off a decade later when the two clubs met in 1992 in the First Round of the postseason. The matchup was heavily lopsided as the Rangers had won the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the NHL. Regardless, the Devils did not go quietly. New Jersey pushed the series the seven games before falling, but the message was sent that the Devils would not be pushovers.

The Devils and Rangers met again two short years later. But this time it was in the Conference Final and for the right to play in the Stanley Cup Final, in what many consider the greatest playoff series in NHL history. The series again would require seven games.
Game 7 was as dramatic of a game as there ever was in NHL history. The Rangers held a 1-0 lead as the game drained to the final minute. New Jersey's Valeri Zelepukin scored with 7.7 seconds remaining to force another overtime in the series. It would take double overtime to decide. That's when the Devils felt the heartbreak of a lifetime as Stephane Matteau scored on a wraparound to push the Rangers into the next round and on their way to a Stanley Cup championship.

The teams would meet three more times in the opening rounds in 1997, 2006 and 2008 (the Devils won the '06 series) before a rematch in the Eastern Conference Final in 2012. The Rangers were again the top seed in the East - two points shy of another Presidents' Trophy. The Devils needed some dramatics to defeat Florida in the opening round before swiping aside Philadelphia to reach the conference final.

Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist pitched shutouts in two of the first three games to take a 2-1 series lead. However, the Devils would storm back from there. New Jersey's Zach Parise scored two goals in a 4-1 Game 4 victory to even the series. The Devils pushed the Rangers to the brink with a 5-3 win in Game 5.

And in Game 6 at Prudential Center, it would be another wild overtime finish. And one of the most memorable goal calls in Devils history.

"They score!! Henrique!! It's over!!"

This time it was the Devils, thanks to Adam Henrique, going to the Stanley Cup Final.

Overview

The Devils make their first playoff appearance since 2018 on the heels of an historic season. New Jersey finished with a 52-22-8 record for 112 points. The 52 wins and 112 points are both franchise records. The 112 points are 49 more than they recorded last year, setting an NHL record for the best improvement from one season to the next. The club also tied a franchise record with a 13-game winning streak and set a new franchise mark with an 11-game road winning streak.

The records didn't stop at the team but was also the culmination of individual success. Whether it was Jack Hughes' franchise record 99 points or captain Nico Hischier netting his first 30-goal season or Dougie Hamilton setting personal marks in every offensive category, it was an outrageous amount of success for the team.

The Rangers earned a playoff appearance for the second straight season. New York lost in the Eastern Conference Final against Tampa Bay, coming up one step short of the Stanley Cup Final.

New York has its eyes set on taking the next step toward that coveted chalice. The team was already stacked with talent in the likes of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin. They added to their spoils prior to the NHL trade deadline by bringing in three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane from Chicago and Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko from St. Louis.

While both teams are stacked in talent, the biggest difference may be in playoff experience. The Devils have a combined 479 playoff games of experience on the roster. However, Ondrej Palat accounts for 28.8 percent of those games (138) while nine players will be making their postseason debuts.

The Rangers, on the other hand, have 866 games of playoff experience with Jimmy Vesey's 12 games being the lowest total.

For context, without Palat, the Devils remaining roster has only 341 games of experience. For the Rangers, Kane (136), Kreider (100) and Tarasenko (90) nearly surpass that total amongst the three of them with 326.

Coaching

The Devils are led by longtime coaching legend Lindy Ruff. The Devils' bench boss, in his third season with New Jersey, has an all-time record of 834-652-78-149 in 1713 career games coached. He helped the Devils reach unprecedented regular-season success.

Ruff's 834 career wins lead all active coaches while ranking fifth in NHL history. Ruff's 1713 games coached are fifth most in NHL history while ranking second among active coaches (Paul Maurice, 1766).

Ruff's staff include associate coach Andrew Brunette, who led Florida to a record season last year as interim head coach, assistant coaches Chris Taylor and Sergei Brylin and goaltending coach Dave Rogalski.

Gerard Gallant has stood behind the bench of the Rangers for the past two years. He steered the club to a 47-22-13 mark in 2022-23 and a second straight playoff appearance. Gallant led the Rangers to an Eastern Conference Final appearance, falling to Tampa Bay in six games.  

Assistant coaches Gord Murphy, Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley and head goaltending coach Benoit Allaire fill out the Rangers coaching staff.

Both Ruff (2005-06) and Gallant (2017-18) have won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's best coach. And both had led previous clubs to a Stanley Cup Final: Ruff (Buffalo, 1998-99), Gallant (Vegas, 2017-18).

Forwards

Both teams are loaded with fast, skilled, dynamic and deep forward groupings. Both can roll four lines without hesitation.

Devils center Jack Hughes is the driver of New Jersey's offensive attack. He enjoyed a historic season personally and in terms of the Devils franchise. Hughes posted a new franchise record 99 points on 43 goals and 56 assists.

He's been every bit the generational talent that the team expected when it drafted him first overall in 2019. If he hadn't missed a few games with an injury, he would have likely broken the 100-point barrier.  

The Devils added Timo Meier at the NHL's trading deadline. He finished the year with his first 40-goal campaign, nine of which came with New Jersey. Meier has a nasty shot and finish. And what's more, he's shown a physicality that will be a huge asset for the postseason.

Captain Nico Hischier (31) and forward Jesper Bratt (32) both recorded their first 30-goal campaigns, to give the Devils four 30-goal scorers. Dawson Mercer had a breakout offensive season in his sophomore year, posting 27 goals and 55 points. That included an eight-game goal scoring streak (10 total) as part of a 12-game scoring streak for 20 points (11g-9a).

Tomas Tatar enjoyed a bounce back year with 20 goals. Ondrej Palat dealt with a prolonged groin injury, but this is really his time to shine. The two-time Stanley Cup champion will bring the pedigree, experience and battle to the playoffs. Erik Haula had six goals in his last seven games, riding a hot streak heading into the playoffs. Jesper Boqvist has been a great swing player all season, going from wing to center. New Jersey's fourth line could be really effective in the playoffs with the speed of Miles Wood and the physicality of Nathan Bastian, Michael McLeod and Curtis Lazar.

New York's Artemi Panarin (92) and Mika Zibanejad (91) both topped 90 points. It was Panarin's third 90-point campaign, while Zibanejad set a career high as well as leading the team with 39 goals. Joining Zibanejad in the 30-goal club was Chris Kreider potting 36. Zibanejad and Kreider are working a line with Kane. Panarin is a wing with Vincent Trocheck and Tarasenko.

The "Kid Line" of Alexis Lafreniere (first-overall pick, 2020), Kaapo Kakko (second overall, 2019) and Filip Chytil (first-round pick, 2017) showed improvement this season. Chytil posted 22 goals, followed by Kakko (28) and Lafreniere (16). Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Motte form a solid and defensively strong fourth line.

Defensemen

The Devils defensive unit has improved dramatically over the past two years. They're led offensively by Dougie Hamilton, who set career highs across the board with 22 goals, 52 assists and 74 points. Hamilton's 22 goals tied the Devils franchise record for a defenseman. The fast development of Kevin Bahl has been one of many pleasant surprises this season. He's been paired with Hamilton of late and has shown himself capable and solid in his own zone while working the top pair.

Ryan Graves and John Marino have been a consistent pair all season long and have a good rhythm together. The third pairing features the steadiness of Jonas Siegenthaler and the offensively gifted Damon Severson. The Devils also have the physical Brendan Smith and rookie blue chip prospect Luke Hughes as added depth. Luke scored the team's overtime winning goal in the season finale at Washington and could be a highly effective wild card.

2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox heads the Rangers blue line. The former defenseman of the year paces the club's defenders with 12 goals, 60 assists, 72 points and a plus-28. His offensive talents are obvious, but Fox has really excelled this season in the defensive zone. He's been paired with the defensive-first Ryan Lindgren.

K'Andre Miller had an offensive breakout year. The team's first-round pick in 2018 set career highs across the board with nine goals, 34 assists and 43 points. He works with captain Jacob Trouba, the heart and soul of the Rangers. Trouba plays a physical and punishing style.

Niko Mikkola, Braden Schneider and Ben Harpur round out the team's grouping.

Goaltending

The Devils' Vitek Vanecek was acquired in the off-season via trade from Washington with the hopes that he could challenge Mackenzie Blackwood for the role as starter, providing a healthy 1a-1b duo in net. But with Blackwood suffering various injuries, the Devils have been forced to turn to Vanecek, and he's been more than up to the challenge.

Vanecek set career highs in every category after playing in 52 games, going 33-11-4 with a 2.45 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

Mackenzie Blackwood and Akria Schmid would be the team's backups. Blackwood has had some nice flashes but has fought through an injury-riddled season for the second year in a row. The 22-year-old rookie Schmid handled himself well during the season when needed, including stopping all 20 shots he faced in a relief appearance to get an overtime win in Washington.

The Rangers are led by Igor Shesterkin. Last year, the Russian tender won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender after going 36-13-4 with a 2.07 goals-against average and mind-blowing .935 save percentage.

Although Shesterkin, who just finished his third full season in the NHL, didn't have the same monstrous numbers this season with a "measly" 37-13-8 record, 2.48 GAA and .916 save percentage, he's still among the upper echelon of goaltenders in the league.

Veteran Jaroslav Halak will backup. The 37-year-old, 16-year veteran has nearly 600 games of experience.

Special Teams

Devils Power Play (21.9%, 13^th) vs. Rangers Penalty Kill (81.2, 13^th)

Devils top PP unit: Hamilton, Hughes, Bratt, Meier, Hischier

Rangers top PK unit: Vesey, Goodrow, Mikkola, Schneider

Player to Watch: Hamilton

The Devils' blueliner posted eight power-play goals and 28 power-play points. His eight goals tied for the NHL lead among defensemen. He's got a bomb from the point and isn't afraid to use it.

Rangers Power Play (24.1%, 7^th) vs. Devils Penalty Kill (82.6, 4^th)

Devils top PK unit: McLeod, Mercer, Graves, Marino

Rangers top PP unit: Fox, Panarin, Kreider, Kane, Zibanejad

Player to Watch: Zibanejad

The Rangers forward posted 20 power-play goals on the season. No other Rangers player hit double digits in man-advantage goals. That tied for third most in the NHL while his 39 power-play points tied for sixth.