Rangers at Devils preview

RANGERS (34-36-9) at DEVILS (42-28-9)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG 2, NHL.TV

The Devils, 8-2-1 in their past 11 games, will advance to the postseason with a win and a regulation loss by the Florida Panthers against the Nashville Predators.
New Jersey holds the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a five-point lead over the Panthers, who have a game in hand. The Devils are one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the first wild card, one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division and three points behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Rangers, 4-6-3 in their past 13 games, have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Players to watch

Rangers center Mika Zibanejad has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his past 11 games.
Devils forward Taylor Hall has four goals in a three-game goal streak, and 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in an eight-game point streak.

They said it

"[The Devils] are big rivals and our team has been going in the right direction and playing good hockey. The rivalry itself is enough to get up for, but against teams you'll play against a lot in the future, you certainly want to put a little damper in their season and play as well as you can." -- Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei
"Let's enjoy a sold-out building, let's enjoy a rivalry game, and let's make sure we're ready to pay a price to win a hockey game." -- Devils coach John Hynes

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Vladislav Namestnikov
Kevin Hayes -- Lias Andersson -- Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey -- Filip Chytil -- Ryan Spooner
Cody McLeod -- Peter Holland -- Paul Carey
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Rob O'Gara -- Brady Skjei
John Gilmour -- Ryan Sproul
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:David Desharnais
Injured: Tony DeAngelo (ankle), Kevin Shattenkirk (knee surgery), Steven Kampfer (fractured hand), Jesper Fast (groin), Mats Zuccarello (undisclosed)

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Michael Grabner -- Pavel Zacha -- Pat Maroon
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Stefan Noesen
Miles Wood -- Brian Boyle -- Brian Gibbons
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatanen
John Moore -- Mirco Mueller
Ben Lovejoy -- Will Butcher
Keith Kinkaid
Cory Schneider
Scratched: Drew Stafford, Jimmy Hayes, Jesper Bratt, Damon Severson
Injured: Marcus Johansson (concussion)

Status report

Johansson has been cleared for contact but will miss his 33rd straight game and remains day-to-day.

Stat pack

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault (648 wins) needs one win to move past Ron Wilson for sole possession of 10th place on the NHL's all-time coaching list. ... Lundqvist will pass Harry Lumley (803) for sole possession of 14th place on the NHL's all-time list for games played by a goaltender. … Kinkaid is 14-3-1 with a 2.41 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and one shutout in his past 19 games (18 starts).