B/R NHL Staff Predictions: Devils vs. Rangers Game 7

It was always going to come down to one game.

Two of the NHL's fiercest rivals have left it all out on the ice for six games with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers trading blows. The Blueshirts jumped out to a 2-0 series lead only for New Jersey to respond with a three-game winning streak. A 5-2 Game 6 win by New York at MSG forced a Game 7 Monday night in Newark.

Home-ice advantage and speed favor the Devils, but experience and goaltending lean toward the Rangers. So who's moving on?

The B/R NHL staff got together once again to provide their Game 7 predictions.

Who do you think will win? Sound off with your pick in the comments section of the B/R app.

This is the third time in the seven playoff series between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers that they've gone to Game 7. The last two were in 1992 and 1994, both won by the Rangers.

This year's version of the Rangers will try to extend that Game 7 streak in this edition of "The Battle of the Hudson River." The Devils, meanwhile, will attempt to regain the momentum they rode to three straight wins before their loss in Game 6.

For the Rangers to pull this off, their scorers avoid falling back into the swoon that bedeviled them from Games 3 through 5. Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko regained their scoring touch in Game 6 and must keep it going in Game 7. It would also be a good time for Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane to find the back of the net.

The Devils managed to push the Rangers to the limit despite a playoff-worst 2.17 goals-per-game average. Erik Haula, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier have led the way, but Jesper Bratt and trade-deadline acquisition Timo Meier have been mostly quiet offensively. They need more production from those two.

Goaltending will also be a crucial factor. The Rangers can rely on 2022 Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin. The question for the Devils is whether rookie Akira Schmid can bounce back from his Game 6 loss and backstop his club to victory.

Ultimately, expect the Rangers' experience and the momentum of their big win in Game 6 to give them the edge and the victory in Game 7.

- Lyle Richardson

After a series start that screamed "these Devils are very young and these Rangers picked up several playoff veterans at the trade deadline," a few clutch plays have turned things around for New Jersey. Once again, the Battle of the Hudson is delivering and is headed to a Game 7.

The Rangers won the last two, sure, but that was the '90s. A lot has changed for these franchises and the NHL since then, like the emphasis on skill and speed. The Devils have the wheels, star center Jack Hughes has stepped up big time in his first NHL playoff run, and they still haven't really reached the level they're capable of (looking at you, Timo Meier). Game 7 Igor Shesterkin is a different player, but the Devils have managed to solve him several times throughout this series.

If they can do that again and have their best performance yet in Game 7, they're winning the series.

- Sara Civian

What a fascinating series this has turned out to be.

All seemed lost for New Jersey when they dropped Games 1 and 2 at home by 5-1 scores. The series shift to Madison Square Garden made it seem like fait accompli the Rangers would roll, but the Devils brought Akira Schmid into the mix in goal. He, along with the team's defense, stunted the Rangers on their ice. They traded wins in Games 5 and 6, and now here we are with just a lot of gut instincts left to decide who will take the series and face Carolina.

I can't help but believe the Rangers' veteran group will take this game. They played exceptionally well in New Jersey early on and sleepwalked through Game 5 in Newark in one of the more miserable performances by any team in the playoffs. Game 6 seemed to show a different level from them, one that taps into the experience this group has from last season.

This is the Devils' first playoff dance with this group—and it certainly won't be their last—but every winner needs an origin story with a built-in rival, and the Rangers fit that description perfectly.

- Joe Yerdon

The series has played out as expected. I would be a hypocrite to rescind my initial prediction that the Devils would win in seven games on the basis of having the home-ice advantage.

So, I'll be a hypocrite. The Rangers exposed Akira Schmid in Game 6 as the underripe goaltender he is, and the veteran core will have them ready for a high-pressure game.

It remains to be seen if Schmid is even going to get the start in Game 7 after Lindy Ruff pulled him in the last half of the third period. Nevertheless, the opposing goalie is Igor Shesterkin, and we've seen him raise his game in big moments already in his young career. He has a .939 save percentage through six games of the series; the smart money is he'll have another strong game in Jersey.

- Adam Herman

It's early. But the playoffs have already been wild.

Both the best team in the league and its defending champions were forced to Game 7s on Sunday, so it's probably no surprise that the Devils and Rangers are going the distance in their Metropolitan rivalry, too.

New York seemed in total control after opening with two straight on the road, but New Jersey showed surprising mettle in responding with three straight wins of its own. So when the Devils headed to Madison Square Garden on Saturday night it seemed a golden opportunity for them to prolong the momentum and end the series.

Instead, the Rangers chased goalie Akira Schmid with five goals on 29 shots—three more than he'd allowed on 82 shots through three games—and gave New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff an important decision to make (starting Schmid or going back to Vitek Vanecek) as he heads into a winner-take-all scenario on home ice.

That's not a good sign. Especially at this stage.

Not to mention, it's precisely the sort of game that New York general manager Chris Drury acquired Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, who've hoisted four Stanley Cups between them, to win. And given that Ruff is 0-of-4 in his coaching career with two other teams in Game 7s, it's no sure bet that the now-63-year-old will have a plan to keep it from happening again.

Look for the newest Rangers to score the biggest goals and continue their run toward a return trip to the final four. As for the Devils, their time has not yet arrived.

- Lyle Fitzsimmons