Devils vs. Rangers: Battle of the Hudson - II

From the desks of:

THE BRICK CITY STYX  and RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS

BATTLE of the HUDSON

Series Tied 1-1

I - NJD 3; NYR 2

II - NYR 5; NJD 2

FINAL

Devils      2

Rangers  5

If you were like me, just hoping the Rangers poor start would result in Alain Vigneault's dismissal, I'm afraid we'll now need to wait a little longer.

After starting the season 4-7-2 in October, the Blueshirts rebounded to post a 9-3-0 record in November.  They are 3-1-0 so far in December, having recently earned six important points against division foes Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Newark on Friday.  That makes the Rangers 12-4-0 since the 2nd of November, elevating them from the bottom of the Metropolitan Division to within five points of the first place Columbus Blue Jackets.

With Friday's 5-2 victory over the Devils at the Garden, the Rangers now own a 16-11-2 record.

The Rangers remaining nine December games will no doubt test their collective mettle.  They'll be hosting the Stars, Kings, Ducks, Maple Leafs, and Capitals, then travel for games against the Senators, Bruins, Devils, and Red Wings.

The Rangers have excelled at home with a 12-5-2 record, and will now host their first games of the season against Dallas, the Kings, and Ducks.  They'll also be looking to avenge a blowout loss in just the second game of the season against the Maple Leafs, and their recent loss against the Capitals.

The Sens, Bruins, and Red Wings, meanwhile, will all be looking to avenge previous road losses against the visiting Rangers, who own a sub par 4-6-0 record on the road.  They will also be visiting Newark for their third encounter against the Devils.

The Rangers have been surging minus the services of center Mika Zibanejad, who Friday missed his fifth straight game (concussion protocol) stemming from a Nov. 24 hit incurred against the Detroit Red Wings.

That being said, if you regularly follow Raise Gresch With The Greats, you know one of my pet peeves is Mats Zuccarello leading the team in points.  It's always been my contention that points to greater Rangers troubles and needs (lack of a top flight center).  I love Zucs, but my point is he shouldn't be leading a this team in points ahead of Rick Nash and Chris Kreider - two of the teams ultimate underachievers.

Rick Nash routinely leads the Rangers in shots of goal.  He leads again with 91 SOGs, yet has only registered seven goals and eight assists to date.  Kreider is second on the team with 74 SOGs, and at least is one of four Rangers with double-digit goals (10), but is nevertheless lagging behind his skill set with 17 points in 29 games played.  MatZucs, on the other hand, has seven goals and 17 points, and it the only one of the three with a positive +/- rating.

Henrik Lundqvist registered his 419th career victory Friday evening, tying him with Tony Esposito for second most wins by a goalie with one franchise.  With four more victories, Lundqvist will also tie Tony Esposito (423) for eighth place on the NHL's all-time career victory list.

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The Devils for much of the first quarter season have surprisingly jockeyed back and forth for first place of the Metropolitan Division with Columbus.  Newark jumped out to an early 8-2-0 record in October, but have trended the other way with an 8-7-4 record since.  They've recently dipped to third place behind the re-emergent Capitals, but still only trail the first place Blue Jackets by three points.

They are 2-3 in December, after losing two straight against the Blue Jackets and Rangers.  However, Friday's lost against the Rangers at the Garden was only Newark's fourth regulation time road loss of the season.  They're lagging with a 6-5-2 record at home, but own a 10-4-2 on the road.

Prior to Friday's game against the Rangers, Cory Schneider started both games of a home/home series against Columbus.  He limited the Blue Jackets to just one goal on 42 SOGs on Dec. 5, but then allowed five goals on just 28 SOGs three days later.  Keith Kinkaid made his tenth appearance of the season against the Rangers, allowing five goals on 35 shots against.

Since arriving, defensive acquisition Sami Vatanen is leading Newark blueliners with 22:10 average ice time, but is presently a minus-five, with just five SOGs, in five games so far for the Devils.  Centerman Adam Henrique, meanwhile, is thriving with a plus-two, three goals, and three assists, during his five games with Anaheim.