The New Jersey Devils head through the tunnel to Manhattan to battle the New York Rangers looking to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Devils need a lot of help, but they’re still mathematically alive for the postseason. The Rangers are the only team in the Eastern Conference that is eliminated from the playoff chase. New Jersey has won six of the past 10 games, but they’re still 10 points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final playoff spot with nine games left to play. And, New Jersey is contending with the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals still ahead of them in the standings. It’s doable, but extremely unlikely they’ll be able to qualify. New Jersey simply needs to take it one game at a time, and get every point it can, starting with Tuesday at the Garden.
The Rangers have been a disaster at home this season, going 11-18-7, although, oddly enough, they’ve been showing some signs of life lately on home ice after having been eliminated. It’s the same formula we’ve seen from the Buffalo Sabres in years past. The Rangers have won the past two games, but they’re still just 4-5-1 in the past 10 outings. Look for the Devils, the lowest scoring team in the Eastern Conference, with 204 goals, and the Rangers, with 211 goals, second lowest in the East, to have a defensive battle in this somewhat important game.
Under 6 (+100) at time of publishing. Playable to -110.