Although the Rangers took Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals 3-0, the Devils aren't feeling too bad about themselves. They had excellent opportunities to take control of the game in the first two periods, but, failing to do so, paid the price in the 3rd.
The Devils produced a postseason-low 21 shots on net, but keep in mind that the Rangers players blocked 26 shots and many more went wide of the net. They had chances – including multiple breakaways – but the Rangers got the first goal in Game 1 and capitalized.
Look for Game 2 to be very similar, but the Devils will have to find a way to break through the Rangers' defense.
The New Jersey Devils can win because…
They had their chances in Game 1 and they’re going to have plenty more in Game 2.
The Devils only put 21 shots on Lundqvist in Game 1, but so many other chances were either blocked or went by the wayside. Sure, the Rangers are a good defensive team, but the Devils faced them six times in the regular season and this isn’t exactly a new challenge for them. They know what needs to be done.
In many cases, it’s just better execution. The Devils had breakaways where they could have easily scored and taken the lead in the first two periods. Overall, New Jersey just played one bad period – as we’ve seen them do many times this postseason – and it once again cost them.
The truth is that New York didn’t really do much on offense – even with the goals. They had just eight first period shots and 10 in the second – few of which were really good scoring chances.
Game 2 will be very similar; it’s just a matter of which team catches the breaks and good bounces.
The New York Rangers can win because…
They outplayed New Jersey in Game 1, and if their effort is the same, they’ll do it again in Game 2.
New Jersey is a team that throughout the playoffs has played well only in spurts. That happened once again in Game 1, but the Rangers weathered the storm, then turned up the heat in the third period when the Devils went to sleep, and won it. The Devils had 17 shots through the first 40 minutes but had only four in the final 20.
Overall, the Rangers power play was better (1-for-4 compared to 0-for-4 for the Devils), they had more hits (35-21), blocked more shots (26-15), had more takeaways (6-4) and won more faceoffs (35-26). This is John Tortorella hockey. In a series that’s likely to be decided by a goal or two each game, doing the little things is what’s going to create the opportunities to win.
The same thing is said about the Rangers every time they win: they weren’t so impressive, and the other team could have easily won the game. That was true again in Game 1 but one thing people keep overlooking is that the Rangers continue to find ways to get the job done, and their opponents continue to fall short. They deserve credit for that.
Outlook & NHL betting prediction:
Both teams are stellar defensively, so the first goal will be crucial in each game. As evidenced in Game 1, as soon as the Rangers took the lead, they never looked back.
The Devils are going to bring the house in Game 2 and why not take a shot with them? The Rangers took Game 1 of their previous two series but then dropped Game 2’s at home to Ottawa and Washington.
Look for the Devils coaching staff to make some offensive adjustments so that their shooters are hitting the net more than the Rangers players. Take the Devils. +++
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