Devils v Rangers Preview 12/2/24

Chris (00:02)
Alright boys and girls happy game day Chris from the Uncle Pucker New Jersey Devil podcast here with you. We're going to do a quick little preview of tonight's huge game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Puck Drop is at 7 o'clock. Yeah, we gotta have a good game to get that bad taste out of our mouths from Saturday night against the Washington Capitals.

I'm pretty sure that we're gonna be doing a show directly after the game tonight and we'll discuss it unless of course it's like an 8-0 New York Ranger blowout, which it's not gonna be. we will do it. We're gonna talk more a lot about the Washington game as well, which I just thought was a mistake-filled crap show that really we haven't seen much from the Devils this year.

the the they were lucky to even be in that game and some of those penalties and undisciplined undisciplined play Dawson Mercer comes to mind like dude you're better than this you know especially defensively I can live without his offensive production which I would like to see tick up a little bit but the mistakes and the four-minute double minor it was just a killer it was an absolute killer

cost them the game against a team that you're battling for for first place in the Metro. I mean, they have to get better on every level, but that was Saturday night. I really hope they can shake it off. They had a couple of tough games after the holiday with the back to backs with the Red Wings and with Washington. So now you get a day of rest and get your mind right to go to an extremely hostile environment.

as much as we would love to think that devil fans are going to make themselves known at Madison Square Garden, the world's most overrated arena, are it's gonna be all ranger fans, it's just how the world works. There was a crazy stat, I was watching the ranger hab game on Saturday a little bit and that was the Rangers first back to back of the season. like, tail end of November, the Devils have played I believe 104 already and

the Rangers get you know that their first one is two months into the season which I I thought was yeah I don't know little sus anyway couple things that the devils have got to make sure tonight like don't depend on anything else don't lean on anything other than the guy next to you and your team because like I said hostile environment the referees are always going to be leaning towards the Rangers and you saw it in the Habs game right

So the Rangers are, I believe, one out of their last six. So they've lost five in a row and then they beat the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday in the garden. And it took all power plays to do it against a team that the Rangers are clearly a better team than Montreal. Montreal is still trying to find their way and the Rangers are quote unquote Stanley Cup contenders. It took a four on, a five on three,

Powerplay it took again all the other power plays too But that was Saturday, let's discuss this right now This is a big game and It's a big game for a lot of reasons It's a big game because the Devils need to get right which is something that they did a lot that they're very good at coming off a loss Fixing those issues and coming back and playing a really solid game

the game after so I do expect that dish this tonight but the other reason why this is a big game is because the Rangers are reeling right now they are playing really bad hockey and I think that if you give them any kind of life if they come out and have a big win against the devils today that could set them in the upward trajectory we don't want to do that right we want to take this little baby kitten and we want to

Drown it in the bathtub because that's what you know the Rangers are so That's it put your foot on your throat and do not let up The Devils are a better team. They're a better team Everywhere except for goaltending we're going to get into that but first

Let's see where the Rangers are. They're right now fourth in the Metro. They have a 13-9-1 record. They're sitting at 27 points. They have a winning percentage of 587. They have a goal differential of 10. Their power play is 23.3%. That's good for 10th. And their penalty kill is 87.7%. That's good for second. So they're very good on penalty kill. Top 10 in both, in special teams.

They average a little under 30 shots per game, 29.83. That's good for 10th in the NHL. And their team save percentage is a glowing .914, which is good for third in the NHL. Now the Devils, they have 34 points. They're second in the Metro. They have the eighth best winning percentage in the league at 630. They have a goal differential of 19. Their power play is

33.7 % that is good for first in the NHL. Their power play is legit and it's scary. So if the Rangers get into any kind of penalty trouble, they're gonna pay for it. Their penalty kill is also pretty darn good at 81%. That's good for ninth. Average shots a game tick over 30, 30.37. That's good for sixth in the league and their team save percentage

has taken a hit the last couple games at 897 and that is good for 11th in the league. There are a few things that worry me about this game and there are a few things that I'm extremely confident about going into this game. Markstrom, who's going to be getting the start tonight, his career versus the Rangers, he's 9-4-2 against the Rangers all time with a 9-16 save percentage, a 2.43 goals against average, and 1.

shutout. Igor Shostarkin against the Devils is 10, 5, and 1. So he's 500. He's got a 919 save percentage, a 2.71 goals against average, and two shutouts. Now on the other hand, our savior Mr. Jack Hughes, 20 games against the Rangers, 11 goals, 9 assists.

20 points, 20 games, he's a point of game guy against the rags, which is fantastic. It's nice having that ranger killer just sitting in our locker room, like knowing that we're gonna have to go through these guys four times a year and possibly, probably sometime in the playoffs and we do have somebody that just does seem to have their number. Jack loves playing in Madison Square Garden. He loves playing against Igor Shostrkin. Igor Shostrkin on the other hand,

hates playing against Jack Hughes. So expect Jack to have a big game. Expect that line to have a big game, which we'll discuss a little bit about that early. Sorry.

Let's go back to last year, alright? This shit show that was Devil's Rangers last year.

On November 18th the Rangers beat us 5-3. On February 22nd 5-1 they beat us. On March 11th they beat us 3-1. And on April 3rd they beat us 4-3. Four games, four losses. And in those losses you had Matt Rempey take out Jonas Seigenthaler and Nate Bastian for considerable time for extremely dirty hits. And on that April 3rd game

We all remember the line brawl to start the game at puck drop which was really fun to watch but we could not hang with the Rangers they were physical against us and They knew it and right from puck drop. They would take us out of our game We had nobody that can combat him That was last year. This is this year our new guys Are gonna who were first, you know guys that are getting their first taste of this rivalry. They're going to

have to step up and play really really good tonight and I'm looking at Kovacevich I'm looking at Brendan Dillon I'm looking at Cotter and and Stefan Nason these guys are gonna have to play physical need be they got to drop the gloves they have to hit and I'm sure that Curtis McDermott will be in this lineup I'm not sure if Rempey was called up from the AHL I had said earlier and I'll say it again if Peter Lavio let calls up Matt Rempey for this game

I'm just to play in this game and it's obvious what he's trying to do and that's hurt the devils I don't want to hear about this physical element when the guy is on the ice against the rate the devils he takes him out he's a dirty player and he's going to play dirty so in my opinion when it comes to hits when it comes to anything the Ranger players they're all on they're all on the radar there's should be nobody off limits alright if you go after Panerins advantage at whoever it is you go after

Plain and simple. You do to them what they did to us last year and we are capable of doing it. So that is a huge thing. What I am concerned about in this game, well there's really one thing. I'm concerned that Igor Shostrkin can steal the game. The guy's a fantastic goalie and he's probably my biggest, definitely my biggest concern. I think that the Devils, if they can get to him, they get a couple past him.

They're going to be alright Igor Sistarkin though could steal this game. What I'm most confident about in this game is that the Devils are going to be able to wear down the Rangers defense. Watching the Rangers I see that their defense and when they're playing their offensive zone in their defensive zone rather is lazy and the Devils do a really good job at cycling that pocket and getting that offensive zone pressure.

And I think that by the late in the second, third period, the Devils are going to be able to completely dominate time and possession. They're going to be able to dominate puck play in the Rangers zone. And I think that's going to lead to a ton of scoring chances. the Rangers are a quick strike team. They have been, for the last couple of years. So Markstrom has got to be on. All right. We cannot have first shots, first goal things anymore. The Devils starts.

this last handful games has been abysmal it has been last year just coming back and haunting again we have not fix that problem yet you need to fix it tonight is another four point game and like i said the rangers are reeling right now they feel a little bit good that they beat the canadians on saturday but they're still extremely fragile alright you cannot treat this game other than it at game seven in the playoffs that's how hard they have to play

Excuse me, because like I said, they are so fragile that the devils have the opportunity to just put their foot on their boot on their neck and choke them out. And that's what I really hope that they do. So that's another thing. I'm confident that the devils are going to be able to over the course of the game, wear down the Rangers and take over in the second and third periods. They've got it from puck drop, though, from puck drop. They have got to attack this.

game like I said no more slow starts Marks rooms gotta play good there are some guys on the devils that are playing extremely suspect right now and I really hope that they end up playing you know they've got to do better and you know plot on this line with Jack and and and Brad I'm just anytime he gets the puck he's not doing anything with it Andre plot has been a shell of himself since he's been on this team

coming over from Tampa. I don't know what we're doing with Andre plot right now, but he's not working on that line. He's not where I so I don't know what we do. And with that, I just hope he plays a much better game tonight. And Dawson Mercer's got to get his head out of his ass. And it's time to really start playing hockey. I mean, this is why he started on a line with Nico. He's played with Jack and now he's down on the third line. Like this is, is this really what we have with Mercer? Is he not?

really that 30 plus goal scorer that we all thought he was. I'm not ready to give up on him, but I just need to see his play go the other way, especially offensively. The new guys, like I said, they've got to welcome to the party. This is Ranger Devils. This is a rivalry, probably, I think one of the best rivalries in in hockey.

So they're going to have to get involved and be involved, stay involved in this game. And yeah, like I said, the devils are going to be able to maintain puck possession in the Rangers zone, wear that defensive core down, which they're not playing good. And just don't give them any life. So I expect a really fast start, 60 minutes of hard hockey. The Rangers are on life support right now.

If they can score quick with the devils, I mean, if the devils can score quick and get a lead in this game, can take the crowd out of it, I think the Rangers are going to roll over like a puppy and show their belly. That's what I believe will happen.

That's about it. Let me know what you guys think. I'm really hoping that this turns out to be a big bounce back win for New Jersey. I did not like the way they played at all against Washington other than a handful of players. Jack Hughes and his line should have a big night tonight. Don't let them get too chippy and as soon as they do go after them. I expect the gloves to be dropped tonight. I expect McDermott to get into it. Maybe Dylan will get into something. Should be a really fun game though.

Should be a hot crowd and I'm really really looking forward to it. They beat us four times last year. Alright, they swept us. That was embarrassing. This is redemption time. Devils are the better team. Go out and show it tonight. Enjoy the game. We're going to be back probably after the game to do a show. I'm not sure if it'll be a live show or not. If it is, then hop on in and let us know what you guys think. Thank you so much for listening. Also one last thing.

if you are all interested in receiving one of these super cool Uncle Pucker New Jersey Devil stickers.

Go to UnclePuckers.com, fill out the contact me info, we'll get them out to you free of charge. Let's go Devils.