On Thursday, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers played in game two of four straight “Hudson River Rivalry” matchups. The Rangers took game one in a three-goal shutout that was ugly for the Devils.
The Devils’ have almost no chance at making the playoffs and will spend the remainder of the season building chemistry and developing the youngsters.
The Devils would immediately have the disadvantage in this game with Pavel Zacha still sidelined and Jesper Bratt sitting out with an undisclosed injury.
Let’s look at the lineup changes:
• Andreas Johnsson takes Bratt’s spot as 2nd line RW
• Mikhail Maltsev takes Johnsson’s spot as 3rd line LW
• Marián Studeniu010d returns in Maltsev’s spot as 4th line LW
• MacKenzie Blackwood in net
1st period: Pretty ugly
There isn’t much to say about the first period from the Devils’ perspective other than the fact that it was poor all-around.