• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Lundqvist, Rangers aim to continue Devils' woes

Mar 27, 2008 - 12:49 PM New Jersey (42-27-7) at NY Rangers (39-26-11) 7:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) - The rivalry between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils has been one-sided this season. A big reason for that is the play of Rangers' goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist and the Rangers aim to continue their dominance of the Devils when they host their archrivals Thursday.

The Rangers, who trail New Jersey by two points for the fourth place in the Eastern Conference, have won all six meetings this season by a combined score of 14-5.

Lundqvist has been the constant in all those wins, recording a 0.81 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts in that span. He has owned the Devils in his career, going 11-2-0 with a 1.40 GAA in 16 games.

Former Devil Scott Gomez, who has missed Tuesday's game due to a rib injury, may return to help the Rangers hand New Jersey a rare fifth straight loss.

Gomez, who spent eight seasons in New Jersey before leaving as a free agent, is day-to-day.

New Jersey, which trails Pittsburgh (44-26-7) by four points in the Atlantic Division, is 0-3-1 in its last four games and has not lost five straight since November 2000.

The Devils, who are just five points behind conference-leading Montreal(43-24-10), have scored just seven goals in their last five games, including Tuesday's 2-0 setback to Pittsburgh.

"The puck is going to go in eventually, said left wing Patrik Elias, who returned on Tuesday after missing four games due to a knee injury and the flu. "You cannot really think about it - that you're having a tough time scoring. We'll get a lucky bounce."