Hockey Rivals Meet in Playoffs

The New York Rangers will play the New Jersey Devils in the first round of this year's NHL playoffs. The two teams played each other on the final day of the regular season with the Devils winning. This will be the fifth time these two crosstown rivals will meet in the postseason. The Rangers have won four out of the fives times and they won the season series from the Devils this year by winning seven out of eight. As a huge Ranger fan, I can't wait for this series to begin. Playoff hockey is always exciting, but with the Rangers playing the Devils this should be a great series.

The Goaltending matchup in this series will be important, as it always is in hockey. The style of hockey that both teams play would indicate many low scoring and tight games. Most of the games these teams played in the regular season were close and decided by one goal. The Devils goalie is longtime veteran Martin Brodeur, who has won 3 Stanley Cups and is considered one of the best goalies of all time. The Rangers goalie is Henrik Lundquist, who is in his 3rd year and has led the Rangers to the postseason and won 30 games in each of his first three seasons.

If your asking me for a prediction, that will be tough. I think it's going to be a close series that will go 6 or 7 games. As for a winner, I think the Rangers can pull it out; but having watched both these teams during the season I think they are pretty evenly matched and the winner has a chance to go far in the postseason. The series starts on Wednesday night in New Jersey.