The NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils hasn’t seen the home team win with Game 4 on tap Monday at the World’s Most Famous Arena. The Rangers are favored to take a 3-1 series lead.

Nitrobetting is here to turn your betting slapshots into winning goals with betting tips and news coverage throughout the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This time, let’s break down the upcoming Game 2 first-round showdown between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers.

Devils vs. Rangers Game 4 2023 NHL Playoffs First-Round Information

• When: Monday, April 24, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ONB
• TV: ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, MSG, MSGSN
• Radio: WFAN Sports Radio 660 AM (Devils) // WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM (Rangers)
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Betting Odds: Devils (+1.5) / Rangers (-1.5)

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Why Bet on the New Jersey Devils?

New Jersey was a rare NHL team to have a much better road record than at home and after losing the first two of this series won 2-1 at the Rangers on Saturday to cut New York’s lead to 2-1.

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored the game-winning goal in Game 3 and also had a power-play assist. Hamilton set up Jack Hughes on the second-period equalizer, then scored a goal of his own 11:36 into overtime to complete the comeback win. They were Hamilton’s first two points through three postseason contests. The 29-year-old had a career year with 22 tallies, 52 assists and a plus-23 rating in 82 regular-season contests. Hamilton joined Brian Rafalski (Game 3 of 2001 CSF) as just the second defenseman in Devils/Rockies/Scouts history to score a playoff overtime goal.

Jack Hughes had a power-play goal and has scored two of the Devils’ four goals through three games. The 21-year-old has added 14 shots on net, two hits and a minus-2 rating in those contests. Jesper Bratt had two helpers. After ending the regular season on a seven-game point streak, Bratt came up empty in the first two contests of the postseason before the two points in Game 3.

Young Akira Schmid got the nod in net after Vitek Vanecek was on the wrong side of 5-1 losses in each of the first two games of the postseason and Schmid was great in Game 3 in stopping 35 of 36 shots. Schmid became the second goaltender in Devils/Rockies/Scouts history to win their postseason debut, joining Chris Terreri (Game 2 of 1990 DSF). Schmid became the first rookie goalie to start a playoff game for the Devils since Martin Brodeur in 1992, the first of 205 playoff games the greatest goalie in team history played for the club.

“This was a shot to maybe change things up, give us a better puck-handling goalie, and it ended up being the right decision,’’ Coach Lindy Ruff said. “It was a decision that as an organization we spent a lot of time talking about, and we decided to go with him.’’ Needless to say, Schmid should be starting Game 4.

Schmid was 4-1-2 with a 2.02 GAA and .925 save percentage in his final nine games (seven starts) of the regular season. He finished 9-5-2 with a 2.13 GAA, .922 save percentage and one shutout in 18 games (14 starts).

Why Bet on the New York Rangers?

Chris Kreider had the lone Rangers goal in the loss. With five goals through three playoff contests, Kreider’s been one of the hottest players in the league over the last week. He’s added nine shots on net, three hits and a plus-2 rating. Kreider became the fastest Rangers skater to hit the five-goal mark in the postseason (three games), besting Adam Graves, who scored five within the first four games of the 1996 playoffs. Kreider’s tally Saturday was his first to come at even strength in the postseason. Patrick Kane provided an assist and four shots on goal and has a goal, four helpers and 11 shots on net through three playoff contests.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 of 28 shots in Game 3 and has allowed just four goals on 79 shots through three games this series. New York entered the game 4-for-10 on the power play in the series before going scoreless on the man-advantage on Saturday.

“They did a good job adjusting to our power play tonight and our execution wasn’t good tonight, and that was the biggest difference,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “The Devils played really well. They skated well and played a hard game. I thought both teams played well. We tried to get a little cute at times. [Schmid] made some key saves. Both goalies were excellent.”

Devils vs. Rangers Betting Trends

• Devils are 13-3 in the last 16 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
• Devils are 29-12 in the last 41 road games.
• The total went over in 4 of New Jersey’s last 5 games.
• Rangers are 6-2 in the last 8 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
• Rangers are 5-2 in its last 7 Monday games.
• The total went under in 5 of NY Rangers’ last 7 games.

Devils vs. Rangers Game 2 Expert Betting Predictions

Rangers 3, Devils 2.

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