As they entered the post-season, the Devils had only two goals in mind–winning the Stanley Cup and building a case to keep star winger, Zach Parise.

Parise, 27, will enter the open market as an unrestricted free agent this off-season. In 502 career games with the Devils, Parise has tallied 410 points including 194 goals. During Monday’s Game 4, Parise made his presence felt, netting two goals and adding another assist. These three points were Parise’s first points of this Eastern Conference Finals. His Eastern Conference Finals opponent, the NY Rangers, have never been shy about chasing and signing free agents. In recent memory, the Rangers have inked forwards, Brad Richards and Marion Gaborik. With some cap flexibility heading into next season, will the Rangers sign the talented left wing?

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The Rangers are taking a 2-1 series lead into Newark this evening, in hopes of taking a commanding lead in the series, after their shutout victory in Game 3 of this series. Game 3 was Henrik Lendqvist’s fourth shutout of the playoffs, and second in this series. He stopped every one of the 36 shots that came his way throughout the game. If his hot goaltending can continue, the number one seeded Rangers could be on their way to the Stanley Cup.

In tonight’s game, the NHL Odds Makers have the Rangers as underdogs at +110, and a huge -355 on the puck line. Will the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist be able to take both games in New Jersey, or will the Devils be able to regain their poise, and rebound from their Game 3 defeat?

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Sometimes, you just have to scratch your head and wonder why. Delta Airlines, the official airline of the Rangers, will fly 80 Ranger fans from Laguardia to Newark Liberty before Game 3. The flight will last approximately 17 minutes. The selected fans will fly for free. 

A few things about this promotion. First off all, the train ride from NY Penn Station to Newark Penn Station takes about 17 minutes. From there, fans can take about a five minute walk to The Rock. Instead, Delta wants to fly these fans to Newark Liberty? Isn’t there some sort of law about low flying planes in the NY Metro area? Plus, the fans taking this flight will need to take the train from Newark Liberty to Newark Penn Station. Can’t avoid the good old NJ Transit. 

Why would any fan want to do this? Not only will they need to go through security, but they’ll have to get on the train anyway. I guess Delta really want some press, but this is honestly one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. Based on the stupidity of this promotion, I hope the Devils win Game 3.

The Rangers landed a convincing first punch in their Eastern Conference Finals showdown. The Rangers blanked their rivals, 3-0 behind goals from Dan Girardi, Chris Kreider, and an empty net special from Artem Anisimov. Henrik Lundqvist bested Marty Brodeur in the battle of the goalies. The Rangers out shot the Devs, 28-21, holding the Devils to just four shots in the third period. The Rangers have won with stifling third period defense thus far so expect that to continue. 

We all know that this series will come down to goal tending and defensive play. The Rangers have superior talent in both facets and should advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1994. 

While the two Western Conference finalists were unpredictable surprises, the two Eastern Conference teams shouldn’t have caught us off-guard as much. After all, the New York Rangers finished as the top seed in the conference while the New Jersey Devils may have been the sixth seed but they still tallied 102 points, which was fourth-best in the East.

But who really thought the Devils would be a 100-point team? Definitely not the NHL odds makers, who pegged the Devils regular season point total at a paltry 90.5. That was the sixth-lowest point total projection for any team in the conference.

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For the second time this post-season, the Rangers rose to the occasion and won a decisive Game 7. Brad Richards wasted little time in the first period, netting the game’s first goal at the 1:14 mark. For the next forty minutes, the two teams failed to register a goal before Michael Del Zotto gave the Blue Shirts a 2-0 lead. The Caps wasted little time, scoring their own goal two minutes later. However, the Ranger defense and Henrik Lundqvist really locked down on the Caps, as they held onto a 2-1 Game 7 victory.

To put it in perspective, the Capitals only managed four shots in the third period. Compared to Ottawa’s 15 shots in their last Game 7, the Rangers third period defense was stellar and they are moving on to face the NJ Devils in the NJ Transit Series.

As a regular commuter on the NJ Transit train lines, I’m not happy at all about this pairing. These two teams are separated by a mere 13 minute train ride from MSG to The Rock in Newark. Fans from both sides will be giving me a headache all week long. However, I expect well-played hockey, so I’ll deal with it.

On the surface, both teams have yet to face a top goaltender this post-season. You could make the argument that Capitals goalie, Brandon Holtby has had his coming out party, but realistically, neither team has faced a proven, veteran goal tender…until now. Marty Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist are still two of league’s very best. This series will likely come down to goal tending and defensive play. Luckily for the Rangers, their back line has been pretty good and will likely slow down the attack of Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk. Remember, there is a lot of bad blood between these teams so expect a lot of rough play and fights. 

As for the Western Conference, I really don’t know too much about the skill position players. However, I do know that Kings’ goalie, Jon Quick, and Coyote goalie, Mike Smith have been dominant this post-season. As the #8 seed in the West, the Kings have won 8 of 9 post-season games rather easily against the conference’s top two teams. ESPN’s Barry Melrose is picking the Kings in six and Rangers in six, so that’s good enough for me. 

As a whole, the NHL would like a Rangers-Kings Stanley Cup Final. The two largest markets in the country squaring off for the Cup. The Rangers are starved for the Cup while the Kings have never won it. The Kings made it in 1992-93 when they had The Great One, but fell to the Canadiens. 

Playoff hockey will be really exciting in the NY Metro area for the next two, three weeks. Buckle up, it’ll be a bumpy ride. 

Debora Robinson/NHL/Getty Images

With only two games remaining on the Islanders schedule this season I want to take this opportunity to look at a possible move that could shake things up in Islander country.  As of now the Islanders roster is comprised of homegrown talent such as John Tavares, Andrew MacDonald, and Frans Nielsen as well as players getting a second chance like Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner, PA Parenteau, and Al Montoya.

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On January 8^th, the Devils trailed the New York Rangers by 31 points in the standings. Flash forward to February 19^th, they trail the Rangers by only 14 points, and the 8^th place Carolina Hurricanes by 12.

Ilya’s finally living up to his contract, recording a point in nine straight games

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NYSOS is continuing to expand. We have added a New Jersey Devils blogger, Mike Gwizdala. Mike is extremely knowledgable and will be able to contribute some great Devils content to the site. Welcome Mike.

Articles about the NY Devils.