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Gomez, Rangers set for meeting with rival Devils

Oct 25, 2007 - 2:01 PM New Jersey (3-4-1) at Ny Rangers (2-5-1) 7:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Signing players like Scott Gomez away from the New Jersey Devils was supposed to make the New York Rangers' offense better. It hasn't.

Gomez will try to get the league's lowest ranked offense back on track when the Rangers host the rival Devils on Thursday in a battle of Atlantic Division foes.

The 27-year-old Gomez will face his former team for the first time since signing a seven-year, $51.5 million contract in the offseason with New York. He has managed just two goals and three points over eight games this season.

Gomez scored the last Rangers' goal in the final minute of their 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers last Thursday. They have been shutout their previous two contests by both the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Rangers have tallied an NHL-low 13 goals and have lost four straight, but they have played much better at Madison Square Garden this season than on the road. The club is 2-1-0 with nine goals scored at home.

Ending the scoring drought will not be an easy task for the Rangers as they will be put up against three-time Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur. The 35-year-old Brodeur has been uncharacteristically average this season, going 2-4-0 with a 3.51 goals-against average and .865 save percentage.

Offensively, New Jersey has been led by Zach Parise, who has a team-leading eight assists and 10 points on the season. John Madden leads the club with four goals.

The Rangers will counter with a pair of 600-goal scorers. Jaromir Jagr leads New York with seven assists and eight points, while Brendan Shanahan has struggled to just a goal and an assist this season.