The last time the Rangers and Devils met, it was for Game Six on 5/25/12 at The Prudential Center. Adam Henrique crushed Blueshirt hearts by scoring over a minute into sudden death to send the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final. As cruel an ending for the Manhattan side of the Hudson as Stephane Matteau’s double overtime winner was to New Jersey 18 years earlier.

Maybe it’s like Devil blogger Hasan said. It had to be that way. A series hardly fought came down to a goal mouth scramble with the hungrier team getting to the loose puck to exact revenge. The only difference is the Devils didn’t win the Cup. Instead, they fell to the Kings in six. Even with their three championships since our last Cup, ’11-12 holds a special place in Devil hearts. They beat their biggest rival to advance to a fifth Cup appearance. All with hockey legend Martin Brodeur in net after he outplayed Henrik Lundqvist. At age 40, Marty was better than 30-year old Henrik.

A fact that still stings. In truth, our team didn’t deserve to win the series. They were done in by Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta and Steve Bernier. The Devils’ grind line had a bigger impact than departed captain Zach Parise. David Clarkson killed us more than a banged up Ilya Kovalchuk. Even Patrik Elias didn’t have a great series. It didn’t matter because the Ranger offense dried up. Marian Gaborik was a shell of himself following the bum shoulder in Round One against Ottawa. Brad Richards was invisible and Derek Stepan was a non-factor. They still found a way to comeback and tie Game Six 2-2 thanks to former Rangers Artem Anisimov and Ruslan Fedotenko.

Even in defeat, that team fought tooth and nail. The same Rangers we loved dug out of a 3-0 hole in the pivotal Game Five at MSG. A comeback I predicted in my 411 seat. I just didn’t see Gionta threading the needle to Carter for a gut wrenching loss our team couldn’t recover from. They never led after capturing Game Three. Credit the Devils for playing a perfect series. They were better when it mattered.

It makes tonight’s first regular season meeting at the scene of the crime feel odd. I still feel emptiness writing this much the way I did this post last year. I guess anytime you lose in that fashion, it takes a long time to recover emotionally. Based on the Rangers’ mediocre start, I’m not sure if they’re fully recovered. They’ve given up some bad goals where they just stood around or fell down like with Richards, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi on Henrique’s crusher. Team defense hasn’t been consistent. Lundqvist is rounding into form. The offense is missing a key ingredient from last year.

You can’t trade for Rick Nash and expect him to solve everything. He’s been good. His second goal a beauty similar to one new Hockey Hall Of Famer Pavel Bure once scored as a Blueshirt. If John Tortorella is going to keep Gaborik, Richards and Nash together along with Stepan, Taylor Pyatt and Carl Hagelin, that leaves two different lines following the trade of Mike Rupp to Minnesota for Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri, who debuts for the Whale tonight against Albany fittingly. I guess the schedule makers have a real cruel sense of humor. It’s Devils/Rangers Night.

It probably makes sense to have Powe play with Brian Boyle since he plays a straight forward, checking game that should mesh. I wouldn’t be too shocked if they’re killing penalties together. Powe blocked three more shots than Ryan Callahan. Captain Cally practiced in a non-contact jersey but remains out. Chris Kreider is listed as questionable for tonight.

Where does Tort play J.T. Miller? Does he start on the fourth line? It’s his NHL debut. I’m sure our coach will be careful how he manages JT’s minutes. He’s only 19 and in his first pro year. The 20 points (8-12-20) with the Whale are encouraging. This probably is just a cameo to see where he is in his development with Kreider and Callahan close to returning. Though the team could use Miller’s energy. The Rangers have yet to go over .500. The Hudson rematch would be as good a place as any to improve their record.

I’m not going to guess on what the rest of the lineup will be. Matt Gilroy’s played the last couple on the blueline with Anton Stralman. Stu Bickel’s taken a few shifts up front. It is the Devils. He probably will dress over Brandon Mashinter. Though I’d be curious to see what Mashinter can add. UPDATE: Mashinter was sent back to the Whale.

The goalie match-up should be a pair of marvelous 30’s. Lundqvist returns after Marty Biron performed admirably in a road win over Tampa Bay. Brodeur should be back in following Johan Hedberg’s shutout on Long Island. I’m sure the atmosphere at Prudential Center will be chaotic with “Hen—rique” and “Hen—rik” chants along with “Hen—rique’s Better,” from the Devil contingent.

Both teams have struggled on special teams. It’s no secret how bad our power play is while theirs isn’t much better. But they do get it set up. The Devils still boast a strong PK while the Rangers has been disappointing. They’ve taken too many penalties. In the win over the Bolts, they took only one penalty. They must remain disciplined.

I’m sure it’ll be entertaining. These are the best games. Tonight’s not about revenge. You don’t earn it in a regular season match. It’s what you learned from last year and how you apply it.