Rangers prepare to take on the New Jersey Devils in Game Four
By Conor Power
![NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Akira Schmid #40 of the New Jersey Devils tends net against the New York Rangers during Game Three in the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Akira Schmid #40 of the New Jersey Devils tends net against the New York Rangers during Game Three in the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/b014ef36003d27ed34b1c40e0d3139cc784693b52c608353592052f1c69f7ffb.jpg)
After the first three games in round one, the New York Rangers currently hold a 2-1 series lead over their Hudson River Rivals and tonight we will see the two organizations go at it again as they prepare for game four from Madison Square Garden. After winning both games in Newark, the Blueshirts dropped game three on home ice in overtime after the Devils opted to go a different route in the net.
For the Rangers, they will need the scoring of Chris Kreider to continue tonight as the Boxford, Massachusetts native has tallied five times in the first three games of this series. Ahead of game four tonight, they will need the scoring of their stars to continue if they want to go back to New Jersey with the chance to eliminate the Devils in their own building. If they cannot score more than one time on Akira Schmid, there will be issues.
It must be said that to this point, the Rangers have only allowed 3 goals in regulation. Hopefully, this doesn’t change tonight with the Blueshirts. Igor Shesterkin has been nothing short of spectacular in this series to this point and the Rangers’ defense in front of him has been solid too. If the Blueshirts want to survive and see the second round, they are going to need to keep that defensive pressure up.
New Jersey Devils
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula – Jack Hughes – Ondrej Palat
Tomas Tatar – Michael McLeod – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Boqvist – Curtis Lazar – Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves – John Marino
Kevin Bahl – Damon Severson
Akira Schmid
Vitek Vanecek
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Patrick Kane
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Vladimir Tarasenko
Alexis Lafreniere – Filip Chytil – Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey – Barclay Goodrow – Tyler Motte
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Niko Mikkola – Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jaroslav Halak
Puck drop time and where to watch
This 7 PM Eastern puck drop is going to be live from the Garden. ESPN will have a feed, but both team feeds will be on the MSG network. With both teams looking for a win and the New Jersey Devils fighting to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination, this is going to be a must-watch game. This is going to get feisty and the Devils seem to be stronger away from the Prudential Center.