Markstrom Stops 20 as Devils Edge Rangers | GAME STORY

NEW YORK, NY - The Devils treated Thursday night at Madison Square Garden like more than just another preseason tune-up. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said he wanted the contest to look and feel like a regular-season game, and his team responded in kind with a composed, structured effort that ended in a 3-1 win over the rival New York Rangers.

It wasn’t the kind of game packed with chances from start to finish. In fact, the opening period saw just five total shots on goal. But the Devils made the most of their best look. Arseny Gritsyuk carried the puck into the Rangers’ zone late in the frame and slid a crisp pass across the ice to Paul Cotter, who hammered a one-timer past Jonathan Quick for the first goal of the night.

“I actually had a pretty bad play on the wall right beforehand,” Cotter admitted. “But what an amazing pass by our Russian friend. The rest, it just kinda was brainless, I guess.”

For Cotter, the goal was more evidence of how comfortable he’s become this fall, skating alongside Gritsyuk and Luke Glendening on a line that has brought energy throughout camp.

“He’s gonna be such an amazing player in this league,” Cotter said of Gritsyuk. “We’re a fourth line out there, but it doesn’t look like it with the way he’s making plays. It’s fun to play with him.”

Keefe has noticed the same thing.

"Cots had a great camp, great preseason, great game here today," Keefe began. "Him and Gritsyuk made great plays. Starts with Cotter in the defensive zone and they convert it to offense.

“I think Cotter’s had a great preseason,” the coach continued. “He drove the puck, made plays, scored a big goal. He definitely looks ready to play.”

New Jersey carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but the game shifted late in the second on a strange bounce. With Simon Nemec back as the lone defender, his clearing attempt deflected off New York forward Adam Edstrom and the puck skipped past Jacob Markstrom to tie the game. That goal gave the Rangers a spark, and the building came alive as New York poured on pressure. The Devils were held without a shot for the final 10 minutes of the period while the Rangers fired 13. By the horn, the home team held a commanding 15-6 edge in shots through 40 minutes.

But in the third, the Devils turned the tables and their special teams made the difference. On their only power play of the night, Dougie Hamilton sent a shot from the blue line toward the crease. Palat, stationed perfectly at the net front, angled his stick to redirect the puck past Quick and restore the Devils’ lead at 2-1.

“It was a good job up top and Dougie shot it,” Palat said. “I was pretty open there, so I just wanted to get a stick on it, and luckily it went in.”

Palat has spent much of camp with Cody Glass and Connor Brown, and he noted that Thursday was another step in building chemistry with his linemates.

“The first period was so-so, the second was better, and the third was better also,” Palat said. “Not bad, still room for improvement. We’ll get a couple practices before next week.”

From there, it was up to Markstrom. The veteran goaltender faced a steady push from the Rangers in the final minutes. His sharpest stop came with 2:43 to play when Alexis Lafreniere darted into the slot, took a feed from Vincent Trocheck, and tried to slip a backhand through the pads. Markstrom shut the door, preserving the one-goal lead.

“Overall, from a process point of view, we did a pretty good job and got the win,” Keefe said. “The power play came through to get us one that ultimately was the difference.”

Dawson Mercer added the insurance marker, sliding in an empty-net goal at 18:37 to seal the 3-1 victory.

Markstrom finished with 20 saves on 21 shots. Quick went the distance for New York, turning aside 10 of 12, while the Rangers outshot the Devils 21-13 overall.

For Keefe, the performance was exactly what he wanted from a night he viewed as a trial run for the real thing.

“I thought we did a lot of good things in the game,” he said. “Our challenge was converting it to offense and getting stuff to the net. But it was close to a regular-season atmosphere, and our guys handled it well.”

Here are some observations from the game:

• Paul Cotter had high praise for Arseny Gritsyuk after the game:

"I think that he's gonna be such an amazing player in this league. His everyday approach is positivity, 'How can I get better?" And it makes the game fun. It's fun to play with a guy who has that ability to learn, but also has confidence in his skill. And he's not afraid to use it. We're fourth line out there, but it doesn't look like it with the way he's making plays. Fun to play with him, for sure."

The assist on the Cotter goal gives Gritsyuk four points (two goals, two assists) through five preseason games. The Russian winger has adjusted well, playing shifts on each of the four lines through the exhibition campaign.

• The game had a fast pace to it early on. Through the first 14 minutes, there were only two whistles: one 57 seconds in for icing and one at 5:07 for offside. The third whistle -- and first TV timeout -- came with 5:53 left. A time slot normally reserved for the third TV timeout of a period.

• It was a low-event game for a good portion of the night. There were only 10 total shots on goal 30 minutes in as shots were 6-4 Devils at that point. Rangers picked up the pace in the latter half of the middle frame, firing 11 unanswered shots to close out the frame.

• Ondrej Palat talked about his line with Cody Glass and Connor Brown and, in particular, the defensive prowess of Glass.

• In contrast to the Lightning/Panthers game played today which had 186 penalty minutes between the two teams, this one was a tamer affair between rivals. Eight total penalty minutes, two minor penalties to each team. That included late offsetting minors taken by Trocheck and Siegenthaler.

• Brett Pesce did not play in the third period. Keefe said there was no update on his potential injury.