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Lemaire's Devils try again to get on track vs. Rangers

Dec 29, 2010 - 4:11 PM (Sports Network) - Jacques Lemaire has not been able to stop the bleeding since taking over the head coaching reins in New Jersey. He will get another chance to get the lowly club on the right track tonight, when the Devils host the rival New York Rangers at Prudential Center.

The Devils have lost five straight games and have been outscored by a 24-5 margin during that slide. Lemaire, who is now in his third head coaching stint with New Jersey, has been behind the bench for the last two setbacks, taking over when rookie head coach John MacLean was fired last Thursday morning.

New Jersey won the Atlantic Division with 103 points a year ago, but just 35 games into the 2010-11 season the Devils are already 22 points out of a playoff berth.

The Devils are dead last in the NHL with just 20 points on the year, leaving them four behind the New York Islanders, who notched a 5-1 road win over New Jersey in Lemaire's first game back.

New Jersey didn't fare much better in its next game, losing a 4-1 decision to Toronto on Sunday. Colby Armstrong scored a pair of goals for the Maple Leafs and the Devils fell to 5-10-2 at Prudential Center this year.

Rod Pelley scored the lone goal for the Devils, who are last in the NHL with an average of 1.69 goals per game. Sunday's performance marked the 27th time this season New Jersey was held to less than three goals in a game.

Martin Brodeur turned aside 11-of-14 shots over two periods before being replaced by Johan Hedberg, who allowed one goal on eight shots in the third.

The Devils have dropped 10 of their 11 games in December and they have also lost five of their last six on home ice. New Jersey will complete its four- game homestand Friday night against Atlanta.

The Rangers, meanwhile, are coming off Monday's blowout victory over the Islanders. The 7-2 home triumph improved the Blueshirts to 4-1-1 over their last six games.

Brian Boyle posted a goal and two assists to lead the Rangers, who scored the game's final six goals to skate away with an easy two points at Madison Square Garden.

Marian Gaborik, Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan each chimed in with a goal and helper for the Rangers, who snapped a two-game slide. Matt Gilroy scored twice, Ruslan Fedotenko also tallied while Henrik Lundqvist brushed aside a shaky first period and won by halting 18-of-20 shots.

"We're just trying to play. We didn't start out well but we just wanted to leave it alone, go out and continue to play," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "(Just) grind through it and find ways to win hockey games. I think we are 7-3-1 in our last 11 games here, but we found a way."

New York has played well on the road this year and tonight marks the start of a three-game road trip. Despite losing two of their last three away from the Big Apple, the Rangers still boast a 12-6-0 record on the road this year. The current swing is set to close this weekend, when New York plays games on back- to-back days at Tampa Bay and Florida.

The Rangers have won both meetings against the Devils this year and have taken three in a row and four out of five overall in the series. New York has also claimed victory in two straight and three of its last four trips to the Garden State.