DEVILS (27-28-12) at RANGERS (36-27-4)
TV: 7:00 PM ET; Televised on MSG+, MSG
Head-to-Head:
Tonight's game is the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season.
The Devils won the first meeting of the season by a score of 5-2 at Prudential Center but lost the last two, 4-0 at home and 6-3 at MSG.
Travis Zajac leads the way for the Devils with three points in the three games, all assists. Blake Coleman had two goals while Damon Severson and Nikita Gusev each had a goal and an assist.
For the Rangers, Tony DeAngelo has four goals and six points in three games while Mika Zibanejad has a goal and four points.
Devils team scope:
The Devils have picked up points in seven of their last eight games. After a successful five-game trip that saw them go 2-1-2, they came back home and put an end to the St. Louis Blues' eight-game win streak.
Connor Carrick scored his first of the season in that game and Dakota Mirmis netted his first career NHL goal. The Devils have now tied Buffalo in the standings with 66 points and are five points back of Montreal, who have 71. Twenty games ago, the Devils were 10 points behind the Sabres in the standings.
Rangers team scope:
The Rangers are battling for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are two points behind the Islanders for that last spot. In their last game, Mika Zibanejad scored five goals in a thrilling 6-5 overtime win over the Washington Capitals. Prior to that, they had lost three in a row.
Since Christmas, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad rank second and third in the NHL respectively in scoring. Panarin has 48 points in 31 games (12 goals) and Zibanejad has 26 goals and 45 points in 32 games. Zibanejad is first in the entire NHL in goals, one ahead of Alex Ovechkin, who has 25.
By the Numbers:
The Rangers have the seventh-best record in the NHL since Christmas at 19-13-0 but the Devils actually have the sixth-best record in the NHL in that time at 16-9-7. During that span, the Rangers have the best power play in the NHL at 30.9%. The Devils have the NHL's third-best penalty kill at 84.5%. If you factor in shorthanded goals (net PK%), the Devils are first at 92.5%. Since Christmas, the Rangers are fifth in the NHL in shots for per game at 32.8 but they're also fifth most in shots against at 33.7.
This is the Devils 14th set of back-to-back games. In the previous 13, they are 6-6-1 in the second half. The .500 record ties them for 17th in the NHL with Boston. The Rangers are 7-4-0 in the second half of back-to-back games.
The Devils are outshooting the Rangers, 120-91 in three contests. The club looks to improve their 8-8-2 record (4-7-0 road) against Metropolitan Division rivals this season.
Injury Updates:
Devils - Will Butcher (lower body) is on IR
Rangers - Micheal Haley (bilateral core muscle) is on IR; Igor Shesterkin (non-displaced rib fracture) is out; Chris Kreider (fractured foot) is out
-- Marc Ciampa, NewJerseyDevils.com