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Tale of the Tape: Rangers vs Devils

Henrik Lundqvist

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 16: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers prepares to tend net against the New Jersey Devils in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 16, 2012 in New York City. The Devils defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

On Saturday, the New Jersey Devils will host the New York Rangers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals (1:00 pm ET, NBC). The series is tied at 1-1; here’s a look at recent history between the two clubs.

Leading scorers

New York: Brad Richards (6G-6A-12PTS) | New Jersey: Ilya Kovalchuk (6G-7A-13PTS)

Starting goalies

New York: Henrik Lundqvist (9-7, 1.66 GAA) | New Jersey: Martin Brodeur (9-4, 2.05 GAA)

Head-to-head

Season series tied 3-3

Dec. 20: New York 4, at New Jersey 1
Jan. 31: at New Jersey 4, New York 3, SO
Feb. 7: New Jersey 1, at New York 0
Feb. 27: at New York 2, New Jersey 0
Mar. 6: at New Jersey 4, New York 1
Mar. 19: at New York 4, New Jersey 2

Game 1: New York 3, New Jersey 0

The Devils held their own for the first 40 minutes of the series opener, but they fell apart in the third period. Dan Girardi finally solved Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur at 0:53 of the final frame and rookie Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal a little over 10 minutes later to give New York some extra breathing room.

The Rangers’ self-sacrificing strategy worked perfectly in the first game. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist turned aside all 21 shots he faced for his fifth career playoff shutout, but the rest of the Rangers chipped in with 26 blocked shots.

Zach Parise managed to get a team-high five shots on goal and three hits, but he was also on the ice for the Rangers’ game-winner and Artem Anisimov’s empty-netter with 1:27 remaining in the contest.

Game 2: New Jersey 3, New York 2

After his team was silenced in the series opener, Devils coach Peter DeBoer decided to tweak his lines. Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Zajac, and Zach Parise made up the first line in the hopes that the star-studded cast could solve the Rangers’ defense.

That line didn’t end up getting an even-strength goal, but Kovalchuk snapped Henrik Lundqvist’s shutout streak with a power-play marker at 13:39 of the first period. The Devils were 4-2 when scoring first and the Rangers were 1-4 when going down 1-0, so that was a very good omen for New Jersey.

The Rangers managed to bounce back in the second period with goals from Chris Kreider and Marc Staal. Kreider made a little bit of history by becoming just the second NHL player in history to score four playoff goals before participating in a single regular season game. However, this still proved to be a very bad night for Kreider and the Rangers.

Following a poor clearing attempt by Marian Gaborik, New Jersey’s Ryan Carter scored a goal late in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. Rangers coach John Tortorella responded by sitting Gaborik for the first 11:20 minutes of the third period. Meanwhile, David Clarkson scored to give the Devils a 3-2 lead and the Rangers wasted a power-play opportunity.

Injuries

New York: Brandon Dubinsky (foot), Steve Eminger (ankle), Mats Zuccarello (wrist), Michael Sauer (concussion)
New Jersey: Jacob Josefson (wrist), Henrik Tallinder (leg)