The New York Rangers haven’t exactly been consistent this postseason, so trading blows with the New Jersey Devils wouldn’t necessarily be alarming. But after losing two games in a row, the Rangers have their backs against the wall, facing a real chance of elimination Friday night. They have given the Devils their best punches but trail 3-2 after a gut-punching loss in Game 5. New Jersey jumped ahead early in that game, knocking in three goals on Vezina Trophy finalist Henrik Lundvqist, and New York never seemed to fully recover.

Lundqvist sounded like a beaten man after the game, somewhat accepting the truth that the east’s no. 1 seed had finally run its course. The Rangers gave New Jersey all it had to rally from a 3-0 defecit in Game 5, but couldn’t keep the Devils’ offense off Lundqvist. They scored with just over four minutes left to make it 4-3, then added an empty netter to seal it.

“It just hurts, the way it ends, a late goal there,” Lundqvist told Yahoo! Sports. “We worked so hard to get back in this game. We did so many good things. So, uh …

“We just have to remember that for the next one, how many good things we actually did tonight, and hopefully we can get two straight here.”

And now, the Devils can close out the series once and for all tonight, and return to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in nearly a decade. As the series returns to the suburbs, New Jersey is favored to close out the series, according to Bovada’s Rangers vs. Devils Betting Lines.

New York is 3-9 in its last 12 playoff games as the underdog.

The Devils are in command because of their ability to close out games. They are 7-0 when leading after two period this postseason, and 5-1 in their last six home games. They were the first team to score more than three goals in a game against Lundqvist this postseason, and he has allowed seven goals in two games, just the sixth time he’s done it all year.

But the Rangers have made their bacon by rebounding in situations just like this, winning five of seven games after a loss.

And don’t forget about the history between these two teams. In the 1994 Eastern Conference final, the Rangers were down 3-2 to the Devils when captain Mark Messier guaranteed a win. He scored a hat trick in Game 6, and New York went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Guarantees by this year’s captain Ryan Callahan?

“No.”