New Jersey @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 30, 2019 ) NY Rangers 4, New Jersey 0

An injury will prevent the second showdown this season between the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2019 NHL Draft but there is a chance that both Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko would have been overshadowed by another rookie. Hughes will not be in the lineup when the New Jersey Devils make the short trip to visit the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

No. 1 overall selection Hughes (upper body) will sit out his third straight game and he also missed the last matchup against second pick Kakko and New York on Nov. 30. While both players have 16 points, the Rangers received a huge lift from Russian rookie Igor Shesterkin, who turned aside 29 shots in his NHL debut to help his team snap a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over Colorado on Tuesday night. "There's really been no long-term conversation about what we're going to do moving forward," New York coach David Quinn said of how he plans to handle the playing time for his three netminders. The Devils, who split two meetings at home with the Rangers this season, followed a three-game winning streak by losing two in a row after dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG-Plus, MSG

ABOUT THE DEVILS (15-20-7): Mackenzie Blackwood had been dealing with an illness heading into Tuesday's contest and saw his night get worse when his mouth was bloodied after taking a puck to the mask, leading to a lengthy dental appointment on Wednesday. Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine said he is unsure if he will go with Blackwood or backup Louis Domingue, who was recalled from the minors on New Year's Day. "Once you get your name called upon, you gotta be ready. So, that's going to be my job," Domingue said.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (20-18-4): Shesterkin, stamped as the franchise's goaltender of the future since he was drafted in 2014, allowed two goals on three shots before surrendering just one the rest of the way to high-powered Colorado. "That just shows he's a competitor," defenseman Brady Skjei said of Shesterkin, now part of triumvirate in net along with longtime standout Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev. Leading scorer Artemi Panarin continues to pile up points, collecting at least three in four of his last six games.

OVERTIME

1. Rangers C Mika Zibanejad has six goals in his last eight games and one tally and one assist in two meetings versus the Devils this season.

2. Devils C Nico Hischier has four goals and eight points in his last six game.

3. Rangers D Ryan Lindgren escaped disciplinary action from the league for his hit to the head of Colorado's Joonas Donskoi.

PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Devils 2