The first installment of the Battle of Hudson takes place later tonight at 33rd and 7th. The Rangers will host the Devils on Broadway. The Hudson rivals meet four times this season, including twice in December. In twenty-one days, it’ll be the Devils’ turn to host the Rangers in Newark on Dec. 23 right before Christmas.

When it comes to the Hudson rivalry, there’s no love lost between the teams. The Rangers represent the big city and bright lights. The Devils represent the little guy and suburban life. Unlike when they played at Exit 16W off the Turnpike, they have a real home in downtown Newark. Though you wouldn’t know it as Hasan cited their mediocre 6-5-2 record at home in a post following a disappointing 6-5 loss to the Capitals on Nov. 30. For whatever reason, they fare better on the road – bringing a 10-4-0 record into Monday night.

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Indeed, the second place Devils play their best hockey away from Newark. In 14 road games, they’ve outscored opponents 48-33. The league’s top-rated power play is 34.9 percent in away games, going 15-for-43. Overall, the red and black click at 33.7 percent to rank first ahead of the Jets. Six different players have at least two goals. They’re led by Stefan Noesen, who has half a dozen by providing the grunt work in front. Noesen has been splendid since signing with the Devils in the off-season. His 13 goals rank second behind team captain Nico Hischier (15).

If the Rangers are undisciplined tonight, the Devils have plenty of weapons that can make them pay. Hischier has five power-play goals. That’s followed by Jesper Bratt (4), Dougie Hamilton (3), and Jack Hughes (3). Timo Meier also has a pair. Similar to past Rangers’ teams, the Devils have a very potent top unit. Having a healthy Hamilton back has helped. Ten of his nineteen points have come on the man-advantage. His big right-handed shot must be accounted for at the point.

A key matchup will be the Rangers’ penalty kill against the Devils’ power play. The Blueshirts remain near the top ranking second in penalty kill with an 87.7 percent success rate. They’ve killed off 32 of 36 (88.9) at home. Chris Kreider has two shorthanded goals. Despite his struggles at five-on-five with sidekick Mika Zibanejad, they remain one of the league’s best penalty killing duos. Peter Laviolette also has Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Sam Carrick, and normally Jimmy Vesey to kill penalties. Vesey is a healthy scratch. Reilly Smith returns to the lineup. He’ll likely see some shorthanded duty.

When the Rangers take the ice, they’ll do so without Brett Berard. Since being called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack, the rookie forward has been impressive. In his first two games, he notched a goal and an assist. Berard’s speed, skating, and willingness to get dirty haven’t gone unnoticed. The 2020 fifth round pick does a lot of things right. Unfortunately, he absorbed a big hit from Kirby Dach in Saturday’s 4-3 win. Berard is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Without him, Laviolette was forced to tweak his lines. Kaapo Kakko moves up to the second line to play with Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle. It was the very active Cuylle who set up Kakko’s game-winning power-play goal with less than 24 seconds remaining against the Canadiens on Nov. 30. Cuylle continues to excel in his second season. He’s been the most consistent skater for the Rangers so far.

Smith will rejoin Zibanejad and Kreider on the third line. Perhaps being able to get different matchups can aid them. Laviolette will continue to have Filip Chytil draw the top line assignment between Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. In his return, Chytil made up for a defensive gaffe by hustling to keep the puck in on Kakko’s winner. That allowed Zac Jones to find Cuylle, who then whirled around and dished across for a Kakko rocket past Sam Montembeault at 19:36.

By sitting out Vesey, Laviolette is reinserting Jonny Brodzinski into the lineup. He’ll play with Carrick and Adam Edstrom on the checking line.

Former Ranger Tony DeAngelo isn’t a fan of sitting Vesey. Now playing for St. Petersburgh SKA in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the defenseman hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinion on the Rangers and what’s happening around the league.

Vesey certainly plays very hard. You never have to question the effort. It’s a bit surprising that he won’t play. He’s a good defensive forward who hustles and wins board battles. Brodzinski has speed and plays similarly. But he’s smaller than Vesey. Maybe Laviolette wanted to get him back in.

If the Rangers lose, it’s not going to be due to their fourth line. They should be concerned with the Devils’ team speed and transition. They’re lethal offensively, ranking eighth in the league with an average of 3.48 goals-per-game. They have better scoring balance than the Rangers, with four players entering tonight with over 20 points. Bratt leads them with 31 points, followed by Hughes’ 30. Hischier has 27. Noesen comes in with 22. Meier and Hamilton each are tied for fifth with 19.

Adding Paul Cotter has paid off. The former Golden Knight plays the game with physicality as evidenced by his team-leading 82 hits. He’s also chipped in offensively with seven goals. The offense has dried up lately. But Cotter plays a key role on the third line. Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer play with him. They’re a gritty line with Mercer providing some skill. Mercer’s coming off a bad game. It was his double-minor that cost the Devils mightily, with the Capitals converting on both ends of a four-minute penalty.

Brendon Dillon has added some beef to the Devils on the blue line. Notorious for his physicality, his 72 hits trail only Cotter. Dillon’s the kind of defensive defenseman you love if he’s on your side but hate if he isn’t.

Brett Pesce is healthy. The former Hurricane comes in with one assist in 18 games. He averages over 21 minutes a night. He was brought in to solidify the back end. They have him playing with Luke Hughes on the third pair probably to help Hughes improve defensively.

Jonathan Kovacevic has been a surprise so far. His strong start convinced the Devils organization to send Simon Nemec down. Kovacevic plays with Joonas Siegenthaler on the second pair. Dillon and Hamilton are the top pair.

Neither Hughes nor Tomas Tatar took the morning skate. Hughes is expected to play.

From a Rangers’ perspective, Laviolette will continue to stick with the new defensive pairings. Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox remain intact. That means K’Andre Miller stays with Braden Schneider on the second pair. Zac Jones will team with Jacob Trouba on the bottom pair. That’s how I’d play them. The defense was still an adventure against the lowly Canadiens.

Laviolette has gone back to his original top unit on the power play. Rather than rehash it like the classic Bill Murray character Phil slamming the alarm clock in Groundhog Day, here’s the second unit:

Jones-Lafreniere-Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko.

As expected, Igor Shesterkin gets the start. In 18 appearances, he’s 10-5-1 with a 2.71 goals-against-average (GAA) and .919 save percentage versus the Devils. That includes a pair of shutouts.

Jacob Markstrom is 9-4-2 with a 2.43 GAA and .916 save percentage against the Rangers. That includes one shutout. In his first season for the Devils, he’s 11-6-1 with a 2.62 GAA and .902 save percentage. In his last start against the Red Wings, he allowed four goals on 28 shots in a Devils’ 5-4 win on Nov. 29.