Rangers v. Devils Preview (aka the Rangers piss on them)

I’m gonna keep this relatively short and sweet because I know the majority of you will gloss over what I have to say here anyway. It’s ok, don’t worry– I won’t take offense. I’m well aware that most of you have no idea that the Rangers and Devils are about to drop the puck on the playoff version of their Hudson River grudge match tonight, and if you do, then you probably don’t give two sh*ts anyway. I mean come on now, we’ve only put out like 4 hockey-related articles in the last 4 months; we know the drill, SC Nation. Still, I’ve gotta say something about this series because I’d be remiss if I didn’t…

For those of you still reading this blurb– likely because you’re Blueshirt diehards– you’re well aware that the Rangers owned the living crap out of the Devils this season, going 7-0-1 against them. More than just outscoring them, Henrik Lundqvist put on a show against Jersey, posting a 1.09 GAA with 2 shutouts. When asked if “The King” was in their heads, Devils center Dainius Zubrus responded ever-so eloquently, “No, it’s not like he’s in our heads.” Wow, very convincing, Mr. Hockey-player-with-a-chick’s-first-name. The funny thing is, I tend to agree with him, but not for the reason you might think. It’s not that the Devils’ are psyched out by Mr. Gold Medal so much as they have a harder time scoring than the dudes in Superbad. They set a franchise record by being shutout 11 times this season, and they recorded their lowest goal output (208) since the team came over from Colorado in 1982. Yeah, that’s bad. Couple that with the fact that, for the first time since ‘94, the Rangers have WAY more playoff experience on their side with the likes of Stanley Cup winners Drury, Gomez, Shannahan, and Jagr, not to mention the rest of the crew who have been through the wars the past two years, and I just don’t see how this series even gets interesting. And that’s not to say that the individual games won’t raise your blood pressure, but when the Rangers win the thing in five games, there won’t be a whole lot to get nervous about overall. Bring on the Habs (who should knock off the Bruins in five as well)!!!