When it was confirmed the Rangers and Devils would meet in the first round, a track meet was expected. Both teams had high octane offenses and, while not defensively incompetent, had some concerns in their own end. Yet Games 3 and 4 ended with six total goals and identical 2-1 scores. The Devils neutral zone trap in both games came to the forefront as an adjustment from their two 5-1 losses in Newark. Thus far, the Rangers haven’t been able to solve it.
The Devils neutral zone trap isn’t like the trap in the 90s, when clutch and grab was the primary source of slowing things down, putting all five players in the neutral zone.