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Rangers look to snap skid against reeling Devils

Nov 12, 2008 - 12:34 PM NY Rangers (11-5-2) at New Jersey (7-5-2), 7:00 pm EDT

NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New York Rangers have slipped into a mild skid and a matchup against the injury-plagued New Jersey Devils seems the perfect tonic to get them back to their winning ways.

After dropping four of five, the Rangers hope to take advantage of their depleted Atlantic Division rival on Wednesday.

New York is 8-0-1 since a shootout loss on February 22, 2007 in its last nine games against New Jersey. In the teams' most recent contest, the Rangers cruised to a 4-1 victory on October 13, handing the Devils their first defeat of the season.

This will be the first time the Rangers will face the Devils without having to solve four-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Martin Brodeur.

After learning on Tuesday that Brodeur's left biceps tendon was actually "70 to 80 percent torn" before he completely snapped it in a 6-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on November 1, the Devils will count on Kevin Weekes to stymie his former team.

With Brodeur expected to miss at least three months, the Devils will rely heavily on Weekes, who went 18-20-5 in 46 games with the Rangers in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Scott Clemmensen gave Weekes a breather in the Devils' last game, a 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

Brodeur is one of six Devils on the injured list, joining centers Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik, right wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and defensemen Andy Greene and Paul Martin.

Defenseman Bryce Salvador (left foot) and right wing Brian Gionta (sore left shoulder) said they would play after missing the Oilers' game because of injuries, according to the Bergen Record.

Posting a 1-3-0 mark without Brodeur, the Devils have scored just six goals in that span.