At this moment in time the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders stand in the way of New York's Rangers winning a playoff berth
This is a very good reason for Rangerville to NOT take the across the Hudson Devils lightly.
Last season the Devs toppled quickly in the playoffs. Plus,super-scorer Jack Hughes was poster boy for the Fragile Ace Of The Month Club. Now Highest #2 is burning the ice like a McDavid.
"It's a mistake to take the Devils lightly," says The Old Scout. "Last season they were riddled by injuries to too many key players and especially the Hughes kid who is a terrific shooter."
The Hockey News Yearbook ranked New Jersey second in the Metro Division, right behind Carolina.
New Jersey's offense is loaded with talent and spurred by captain Nico Hischier who's rated second center behind Jack Hughes. Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt bolster the offense while their goaltending is the best it has been since The Brodeur Era.
Jacob Markstrom is the titular goalie starter but Jake Allen and Nico Daws are excellent backups.
By contrast, the Islanders are not so lucky in goal. Ilya Sorokin is off to a rocky start and his sidekick Senjon Varlamov still is recovering from surgery.
Is The Rangers Glass Half-Full Or Half-Empty? Or Is There A Glass At All?
There's good news today and – sorry – also bad news.
Right now David Rittich looks like the top banana of the three but coach Patrick Roy is hopeful that Sorokin will find his form of yesteryear.
The Islanders are a work in progress fortified by crack rookie blueliner Matthew Schaefer, who already looks like a shoo-in for the Calder Memorial Trophy.