Devils rangers game 6 preview

Brady Skjei -- Kevin Klein. Scratched: Adam Clendening , Brandon Pirri. Injured: Pavel Buchnevich back , Mika Zibanejad broken left fibula. Following the game Saturday, Devils coach John Hynes did not commit to a starting goalie after watching Keith Kinkaid make 28 saves.

Cory Schneider, the Devils' No. Hynes has made Parenteau and Bennett healthy scratches in the past two games. Zacha was a healthy scratch against the Senators after being a minus-2 in against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. In the end, Game 6 will be about the blue collar Blueshirts' resilient play yet again: Dan Girardi blocking shots; Ryan Callahan forcing on the forecheck; Brad Richards making the key play in precisely the right situation.

For the Devils, tonight is all about one more round of Brodeur's bravado -- can he really still come through? No matter who comes through, there is always a "Matteau moment" on nights like these -- the winger scored the double-overtime winner for the Rangers in Game 3 in '94 as well as the series clincher.

Not knowing where or when or who it will come from only adds to the intrigue. And the drama. This time there is no Mark Messier, no brave guarantee like in Different players, different times. Same rivalry, same dates, though. Kreider attempts to continue his hot start while Panarin hopes to follow up his first two-goal game with another productive contest Sunday night when the New York Rangers host the New Jersey Devils.

Kreider has seven goals in his last six games. The Rangers improved to when he scores, after he tallied twice in Saturday's win over the host Columbus Blue Jackets. Kreider tallied his first goal when the Rangers scored three times in 63 seconds during the second period, and he added his NHL-leading seventh power-play goal in the third. Those goals occurred after Panarin scored twice, marking his first multi-goal game since April 15 against New Jersey.

When you look at Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, they have some players that are extremely offensively talented. If you give them high-quality opportunities, those guys don't miss.

The last time the Devils and Rangers faced each other, which happened to also be in Madison Square Garden during the preseason, some heated events took place after Devils defenseman P. Subban knocked Rangers forward Ryan Reaves out of the game as they collided going into the corner. Subban's skate clipped Reaves and he fell awkwardly. He needed help off the ice, but was able to make a quick return in the following days. However, that evening the Rangers, particularly Kreider, looked to exact some revenge on Subban and there was plenty of "chippyness" from that point on.

Whether or not any of that bad blood spills over remains to be seen. Although, the rivalry between the clubs combined with their tight positioning in the Metro Division could be enough of a backdrop for some high tension. We're close in the standings. I know it's early in the year, but these are all four-point games. The teams in our division, every team is over. We know how important the game is.