Surprising New Jersey Devils looking to end playoff drought

Although defenseman John Moore felt ready to return from the lower-body injury that sidelined him for the last two games before the All-Star break, the Devils chose to hold him out for one more game. “So, we parked that and moved on, but it’s the final stretch now, so, for us, it’s a big game against the Rangers.”TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG2 (New York), MSG-Plus (New Jersey)ABOUT THE RANGERS (27-17-5): Nash, who is third on New York with 33 points, underwent a CT on his knee Monday that did not reveal any additional damage beyond a bad bone bruise that coach Alain Vigneault said is taking longer to heal than the team anticipated”. In their first game in eight days, the Rangers reverted to a lot of the same things they’ve been doing for months.

Miller looked to have given the Rangers command when his tough-angle, right-circle blast, his seventh in as many games, 15th of the season and second of the game, beat Schneider just 2:06 into the third period. The Rangers, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 on the power play and Cory Schneider made 31 saves.

“That was a pretty high-risk play, going behind the back there”, Schlemko said of his pass that was intercepted by McDonagh. We came out and turned it over three times and gave them Grade A scoring chances right down the middle. I keep saying it to the players, it’s a competitive league, there’s not much separating teams. “Other than (Henrik Lundqvist) and (Jesper Fast), we had so many guys that were off their game it was unbelievable”. If you don’t come out and execute and play on top of your game, you get what we got tonight, you get blown out 3-0.

“It’s really frustrating”, McDonagh said. “We played a real strong game in Carolina on the road”.

Tie between Henrik Lundqvist and Mats Zuccarello. Likely not in playoff contention. The Devils were 2 for 2 with the extra skater and they killed off all four Rangers power plays. The two veteran defensemen have struggled significantly this season, leading to pointed criticism from fans.

Blandisi signed with New Jersey previous year after being drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the sixth round of the 2012 draft.

In the second, as a carryover power play wound down stemming from Derek Stepan’s hook with six seconds to go in the first, there was no defender near Lee Stempniak, posted face-to-face with Lundqvist on the doorstep.

Let’s be honest. The Washington Capitals are going to win the Metropolitan Division.

The Rangers had an early lead in the third period.

The Rangers are a point ahead of the Islanders with the Penguins and Devils tied at 57 points. But there also were a lot of questions that have been answered.

By no means is a playoff berth a guarantee, and a Cup run seems unlikely.