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I don’t really have any words at the moment. That’s how disgraceful the Boston Bruins’ performance was against has been Jocelyn Thibault. Getting blanked at home by Ryan Miller is one thing but to not even bother trying against T-Bone is quite another altogether.

It was clear as day what Claude Julien’s strategy was. Don’t go hard into corners. Avoid any human contact. Stay healthy for the postseason. I can’t fault the B’s much here as they had already secured a spot yesterday with a 4-1 road victory over beat up Ottawa, who will not have captain Daniel Alfredsson nor Selke candidate Mike Fisher when the second season begins.

Loose Translation: The defending Eastern champs are cooked. So, whoever gets them should have plenty of fun at their expense.

There’s one thing which I’m not grasping about that lifeless performance which saw $10 million man Thomas Vanek net his fourth hat trick since President’s Day:

Would you chance it if your first round opponent turns out to be Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals? Let’s see here. After tonight’s 3-1 home win over Florida wrapped up their first Southeast Division since 2000, that’s seven in a row and 11 of their last 12.

In recent memory, only the Devils came into the NHL tournament hotter with that ridiculous 11-game win streak which turned into 15 after sweeping out the Rangers.

Which brings us to the second first round Battle of the Hudson in three years. A lot has changed in those 24 months. The cast of characters are different on both sides. Sure. A few of the familiar faces such as the two polar opposite No.30’s in Henrik Lundqvist and Marty Brodeur plus Jaromir Jagr and John Madden are still part of the script.

It’s just that there’s so much more to look at when evaluating the two mirror images who rely on close attention to detail along with their franchise goalies to win.

Tomorrow’s game became more important due to Boston mailing it in. Home ice is now up for grabs. It’s rather simple:

A.If the game reaches OT, the Devils get the No.4 seed and home ice.

B.A Ranger win in regulation pushes them past New Jersey into fourth giving them that extra seventh game at MSG. 

Now, with that at stake, there’s no way either coach will play their backups. For the Devils, even if that weren’t the case, Kevin Weekes would still have a clipboard and a free bag of popcorn complements of Chico Resch. Brodeur always starts and tomorrow will be No.41 in a row unless Hell freezes over. I still plan to be here as does our Devil contingent.

No matter what way you slice it, a loss to a hated rival is out of the question. I tasted that sour feeling two years ago in a series which was over before it began. A total mismatch. I believe this time, it will be different. No. I’m not going to make any predictions for this series. I can’t and won’t. The only thing I expect is that it should be a lot more competitive as both participants are very healthy going in.

The Rangers will get back key fourth line center and top penalty killing forward Blair Betts tomorrow from minor foot surgery. Does Marek Malik also return or does Tom Renney keep it intact? Christian Backman has come around after doing his best Sandis Ozolinsh not too long ago. Paul Mara has filled in admirably. My guess is Renney will reinstall Malik and team him with partner Michal Rozsival, shifting poised rookie Marc Staal to the third pair alongside Backman.

I really don’t have much issue if that’s what happens.

On the Devils’ side, the only question is whether Bryce Salvador will return. Otherwise, they’ll be relying heavily on Paul Martin, Colin White and Johnny Oduya. Don’t underestimate Mike Mottau either as Brent Sutter has gotten a lot of mileage out of the journeyman. He logs important minutes and has handled himself quite well.

If there’s one advantage the Rangers might have on the blueline, it’s the steady pair of Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi. They look to have a little more balance 1-6 with the capable Mara if needed. Even the most optimistic Devil fan can’t be overly confident about Vitaly Vishnevski and either Sheldon Brookbank or Andy Greene. Is Karel Rachunek back in or is that experiment over?

The forward match-ups are intriguing. You have the top scoring line of Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner who have worked extremely well together to form solid comradery. The Rangers can counter with the solid two-way line anchored by Chris Drury along with rookies Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan. They are certainly dangerous enough offensively and terrific on the forecheck.

Is that how Renney will go though? Hard to say. Another question is will Sutter match the Madden line against Scott Gomez or Jaromir Jagr? It’s kind of like picking your poison.

Jagr has really come on strong with points in four straight and five goals including three power play. No.68 is playing his best hockey of the season. His team needs him for this first round and beyond if they’re to have any shot of going deep into the Spring.

Jagr has played lately with Steven McDonald rookie recipient Brandon Dubinsky and complementary wing Marty Straka. Don’t be surprised if Renney flips Straka back to the Gomez line for Sean Avery, who’s been invisible lately. At the moment, Avery’s with the former Devil pivot and 39 year-old vet Brendan Shanahan.

If things go well for Betts Sunday, he’ll center a capable fourth line which Renney can send out more than a few shifts. Figure Fredrik Sjostrom and Petr Prucha to be on it because enforcer Colton Orr is out with a broken foot and it makes little sense to play slow and slower team comedian Ryan Hollweg.

Let’s see if Renney’s sensible enough to do that.

On the Devil side, they’ll need offensive support from the Madden line comprised of John Madden, Jay Pandolfo and at the moment Brian Gionta, who somehow has not gotten on the scoresheet during the regular season series. Something which every Blueshirt fan should be concerned about.

My only question is if Sutter keeps together the suddenly sizable effective trio of Dainius Zubrus, Mike Rupp and rookie banger David Clarkson, then what about who plays with slumping sophomore pivot Travis Zajac? Can Sergei Brylin and Arron Asham teamed with Zajac generate offense?

Maybe that’s a question better left for Hasan or Lepore cause I’m baffled. I think the Devs need to have more offense up front if they want to win this series. The top three Ranger lines are well balanced and can cause problems for that Devil D.

You could also say the same for that Elias top unit which features Parise, who is just awesome along the corners getting to every loose puck and then using his superior speed to get quality chances. He’s the best scorer in this series as the 32 goals, 10 power play goals and eight deciding markers say. Elias might not finish as much these days but he’s always been a money playoff guy. You don’t need to remind any Ranger about that if they were around for two years ago.

So, what should this series come down to aside from airtight battles featuring timely stops from Lundqvist and Brodeur. We’re probably looking at a couple of overtime games where there won’t be any shootout to save Renney.

My gut feeling on this series is whoever comes out more aggressive will win. Simply sitting back and countering won’t win it. The team which is able to sustain a better forecheck should have the advantage and could wear down the opponent.

Figure it to be very physical as these teams absolutely loathe each other as much as the fans. What I believe that means is that whoever wins it will come out bruised and battered and could be easy pickings for somebody in Round Two.

That’s just a gut feeling as I don’t believe either team scores quite enough to make a serious run in this conference. I see it going at least six games.

And now a final thought which I’m sure can be expressed for a lot of fans in this heated rivalry.

Losing is not an option. There are zero excuses as this Ranger team has been expected to get to this point and much more. You don’t bring in Drury and Gomez for a third straight postseason. You get them for this crucial time of year.

And with that, I’ve said my piece. Now let’s hear from the enemy.