With playoff exit still on their minds, Rangers amped up for first matchup of season with Devils
Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba sets before a face-off against the Islanders during the first period of an NHL preseason game at UBS Arena on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
GREENBURGH — That seven-game, first-round playoff loss to the Devils last spring still stings the Rangers. It haunts them. And on Friday, they didn’t try to downplay the significance of Saturday’s first meeting of the season with their Hudson River rivals in Newark.
“When you play a team that ended your season, it’s obviously something you’re aware of,’’ Jacob Trouba said after practice at their Westchester County facility. “It’s a regular- season game, but yeah, there’s a little bit of ‘something-something’ to it with Rangers-Devils and the playoff history.’’
“I think it definitely adds something,’’ forward Jimmy Vesey said of how the playoff result affects the significance of Saturday’s game. “It’s the first real game against them since the playoffs, and [this is] a team, going forward, we might see again in the playoffs over the next few years. So this is definitely, I would say, a big game, or a marquee game, on the schedule.’’
The Rangers arrive at the teams’ first meeting at the top of the Metropolitan Division, second in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the NHL with an 11-2-1 record. The Devils are 8-6-1 and, at the moment, outside of a wild-card playoff spot in the conference.
New Jersey has been struggling without injured stars Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and, in its last game Wednesday, Timo Meier. Hughes, second on the Devils in scoring with five goals and 15 assists, returned to practice Friday after missing five games with a shoulder injury. Coach Lindy Ruff said whether the 22-year-old plays Saturday will be a “game-time decision.’’
Of course, the Rangers have been dealing with their own injury woes. No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox remains on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury and second-line center Filip Chytil (upper-body injury), though eligible to come off injured reserve, has not skated and remains out.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin practiced fully Friday after missing the last four games with an undisclosed injury. He also practiced Monday and Wednesday and could make his return Saturday, although coach Peter Laviolette didn’t want to say if he might.
“He went through the practice today,’’ Laviolette said. “Full practice, no restrictions. And so we’ll make those decisions.’’
Shesterkin, who last played Nov. 2 in a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, is 6-2 with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Jonathan Quick, who played three of the four games in which Shesterkin was unavailable, is 4-0-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage.
There also is the question of how the Rangers will look coming out of a five-day gap between games. They last played Sunday in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Blue Jackets.
“Any time you have a break like that, there can be concern for rust and things like that,’’ Vesey said. “But I think we’ve had a good week, spent some time together and got our rest, and had some good practices too. I think we’re a veteran team at this point. And we’re looking to just keep this thing going.’’
“Sometimes when you get that many days off, you almost wish you were playing games,’’ Laviolette said. “It was a good stretch, but we’re through it and ready for tomorrow.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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