The New Jersey Devils had across the Hudson River to Manhattan on Thursday night to take on the New York Rangers in a match-up with very serious playoff implications. The fourth-place Devils are just two points ahead of the sixth-place Rangers, and neither team’s spot in the postseason has been secured as yet. Check out this critical Atlantic Division match-up between two teams fighting for their playoff lives in brilliant 1080i on HDNet, live at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Devils to Watch

The reeling Devils have lost four straight games, and if they’re going to get back on track, they’ll need for veteran forward Patrik Elias to provide a spark. Elias missed four games with a bad combination of the flu and a bruised knee, but returned to the lineup for Tuesday night’s 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Though he was held off the scoresheet in the shutout, Elias did fire five shots on Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, a good sign that things will start going his way. Elias is one of the game’s better two-way forwards, a plus-162 for his career and a plus player in every season since he became an NHL regular in 1997-98.

Brian Gionta scored 48 goals in 82 games (2005-06) and 25 goals in 62 games (2006-07) playing alongside Scott Gomez, who signed with the Rangers last summer. This season, Gionta’s lit the lamp only 21 times in 75 games, his goals-per-game average dropping from 0.5 to .28 in Gomez’s absence. Without question, the Devils’ biggest concern is their short-circuiting offense, and they’ll need better production from Gionta down the stretch and during the postseason if they’re to compete for the Cup.

On the blue line, young Andy Greene was expected to play a huge role on the power play following the offseason departure of Brian Rafalski. But as it’s turned out, Paul Martin has been the Devils’ most consistent offensive defenseman, tallying 28 points in 67 games (including 12 PP points). And the additional offensive support from the blue line has come not from Greene, but from Johnny Oduya (22 points, six PP points, plus-22 rating) and Mike Mottau (17 points, six PP points).

Of course, the biggest key to the Devils’ success is the magnificent Martin Brodeur, quite probably the finest netminder in NHL history. He’s only 18 wins behind all-time record-holder Patrick Roy, he’s hoisted the Stanley Cup on three separate occasions as the Devils’ starting goaltender, and he’s been a bastion of stability between the pipes for nearly 15 years.

Since the strike-shortened 1994-95 season (when the Devils won their first Cup and he started 38 of 48 games), Brodeur has averaged 72 starts per season. And when one considers his extensive playoff participation and his consistent willingness to represent Team Canada in international competition, Brodeur is inarguably the most durable athlete in the entire NHL.

Rangers to Watch

Last summer, the Rangers invested heavily to import two high-profile centers, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. And though it’s way too early to evaluate their long-term impact, it’s certainly reasonable to take a critical look at their first campaign together on Broadway.

Drury hasn’t exactly been a game-breaker in his debut campaign with the Blueshirts, though he’s certainly tallied some timely goals along the way. But evaluating Drury on the basis of his regular season statistical results has never provided a fair measure of the man. He tallied a career-high 69 points for the Buffalo Sabres last season, and has cracked the 30-goal barrier only twice over the course of his nine-year NHL career. Indeed, it’s his leaderships skills and postseason exploits that the Rangers desired when they signed him to a five-year, $35.25 million deal, and the return on that investment won’t truly be realized until he helps the Blueshirts to some postseason victories.

Meanwhile, Gomez’s 51 assists are just five off the career high he set in 2003-04 with the Devils, and with a strong finish he could crack the 20-goal mark for the second time in his career (the first was in 2005-06, when he lit the lamp 33 times). His 67 points lead the Rangers, and if not for a rib injury suffered against the Flyers on Friday night, he’d be quite likely to score 70-plus points for the fourth time. Unfortunately, that rib injury will likely keep him out of the lineup tonight, and so it’ll be up to substitute forward Petr Prucha to inject the Rangers’ offense with some life.

The Blueshirts are 2-2-2 in their last six games, including two consecutive overtime losses to the hard-charging Philadelphia Flyers. But though they’ve certainly been struggling a bit, one key player is without question on top of his game. Netminder Henrik Lundqvist has been absolutely sensational over the past few weeks, stopping 190 of 203 shots (.936 SV%) over the past eight games while posting a 5-2-1 record.

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