Quote:
Originally Posted by MaTH716
I really believe that they are a very good team. The biggest difference for them is that pucks have found the back of the net in the post season. They really struggled to score in the regular season (Hence the 8 seed).
They didn't need to beat the Rangers to validate their success in the Playoffs. They beat 2 very good teams (handily) in Vancouver and St. Louis (I was on the fence about the Yotes). In my opinion they are a better version of the Rangers. A very solid defensive team with a stud goaltender that struggles to score goals most of the time. I do think that they have more team speed and also better skill guys then the Rangers. Also for some of these guys, it isn't their first rodeo into the finals, so they know what to expect. Obviously they have the fresher legs too.
As painful as it for me to say, I don't think that the Rangers would have fared much better than the Devils have so far.
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Very little separates the Devils, Rangers, Flyers, Penguins and Bruins when it comes down to it. The teams in the West seem to be farther apart typically (though this year is an anomaly). The Kings run this year is remarkable and no matter who they beat they deserve all the credit in the world. Switching to Sutter was the difference maker IMO. He was here for an interview with the Avs last summer and while I am a Ranger fan and have no love for Sutter I would've liked to see some winning here.