New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers excited for Game 1 -NHL Playoffs Preview
It is finally now down to the Eastern Conference Finals in which the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils will battle it out for pride, glory and all that good stuff.
With Game 1 right around the corner, both teams are focused on taking the opening matchup and aim to dominate the opposition but know it will definitely not come easy.
Phoenix Coyotes were dominated by Los Angeles Kings in the opening Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday, May 13, 2012, but New Jersey and New York both know that it will not be the case over in the East.
Just like the West, the battle for Eastern Conference supremacy will be one focused mainly on goalies. Martin Brodeur of New Jersey has already come out in the open to regard Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist as the best in the league, but coming from him, it just
might be another one of his tactics.
"Whatever I'm going to do in the next two weeks is what people will talk about," Brodeur said. "So that's just the nature of being still active in the NHL. And if I wasn't ready for it, I wouldn't be here. So I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to have the opportunity
to try to move on to the Stanley Cup Final."
"There's a lot of things that makes this series special," Lundqvist said on Sunday after practice. "Everybody is looking forward to it, and we're very excited that we are there (in the conference finals). We're going to do whatever we can here in order to
be at our best."
Attackers
New Jersey will be looking for veteran forward, Ilya Kovalchuk, to lead them in the series just like he did in the 2011-2012 NHL regular season. The series will definitely based on how many opportunities a team will be able to capitalise on and Devils will
need to break Lundqvist for sure.
Brad Richards will have to come up big yet again like he did against Washington Capitals after laying low in the quarterfinals against Ottawa Senators. Richards has 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists), just one below Kovalchuk, making it an intense matchup in
every aspect.
Game 1 kicks off on Monday, May 14, at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Prediction:
New Jersey Devils win 3-2.
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