Rangers vs. Devils Game 6: New Jersey Cannot Afford to Lose Crucial Game at Home

The New Jersey Devils pulled out an incredible win at the Garden last night and are now headed for a potential-series ending Game 6 at the Rock on Friday night.

NJ simply cannot afford to lose. They have to close out the Rangers at home or risk being defeated in Game 7 at MSG, in the same exact manner that they flamed out when these teams clashed during the epic 1994 Eastern Conference finals.

While the rosters are much different now (with the exception of Martin Brodeur), the stakes are just as high.

It will be tough for the Devils to shake off a crushing Game 6 loss and rally for a win on the road—albeit not a far trip—in Game 7. They have all of the momentum on their side right now and must capitalize upon it.

One person who truly believes the team will is coach Pete DeBoer. He told Rich Chere of The Star-Ledger that his squad is ready.

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"I think we'll be good. We're at home in front of our home crowd,” DeBoer said. "I think we worked awful hard to have this opportunity. I'm confident we're going to throw a good game out there."

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While the Devils certainly worked hard for the opportunity, they will have to work even harder to get a victory and move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Los Angeles Kings are awaiting the winner of this matchup and will be plenty rested by the time the battle for the Cup starts. That is another huge reason why New Jersey must close this series out and not let it drag to a seventh game.

If NJ loses in Game 6, it will be near impossible to win Game 7 and—assuming they somehow do emerge victorious—makes the Stanley Cup even tougher to capture.