Devils Pick Up 3-2 Win Against Rangers | GAME STORY

NEW YORK, N.Y. - In the Devils third preseason game of the 2023-24 season, New Jersey picked up a 3-2 win over their Hudson River Rivals, the New York Rangers. Tyler Toffoli, Jesper Bratt, and Michael McLeod scored for the Devils.

“I thought the effort was good,” Devils head coach Lindy Ruff explained following the game. “It was a competitive game. I thought a real good first period, I thought (we) started the second ok, and then the Rangers took over for 12, 13 minutes. I thought the last 5-6 (minutes of the second) was good. Then I thought the third period I thought we played well. Left a lot of chances out there but we expected a push. I thought we saw the best of them in the second period.”

New Jersey came out strong against the Rangers, as they brought energy and speed from puck drop. When Mika Zibanejad went to the box for interference just over three minutes into the game, both power play units found scoring opportunities that were turned away by Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Through the first six minutes, the Devils had a 8-0 shot advantage.

Later in the first, the Devils struggled with their passes and breakouts as the Rangers put on the pressure. However, with just over a minute left in the first period, Tyler Toffoli’s shot deflected off Shesterkin and found the back of the net, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead.

10 seconds later, Shesterkin redeemed himself with a big glove save on Simon Nemec’s shot. Nemec, in his second preseason game, continues to show the offensive side of his game, after picking up a primary assist on Toffoli’s goal.

“I think I felt better than in Montreal and I still think I can play better,” Nemec shared following the game. “I think I’m a little bit more offensive defenseman than defensive. I think I had a couple good looks.”

Four minutes into the second period, the post became Akira Schmid’s best friend as a shot by Will Cuylle hit the post and saved the Devils goaltender. Bahl’s physicality in front of the net against Nick Bonino was called for interference five and a half minutes into the second period. The Devils killed off the penalty and saw several saves by Schmid to keep the Rangers off the board.

Halfway through the middle frame the Devils switched goaltenders with Erik Kallgren replacing Akira Schmid. Right after the Devils goaltending switch, the Rangers tied things up with Erik Gustafsson’s goal.

The Devils had another power play opportunity late in the second period when Chris Kreider was sent off for interference; however, New Jersey couldn't convert on any of their three chances. In the final mintue of the period, Alexis Lafreniere and Simon Nemec were sent off for fighting and it was time for some 4-on-4 hockey to end the second and start the third period.

The Rangers made a goaltending change to start the third period with Louis Domingue replacing Shesterkin. 25 seconds into the third period, Kevin Bahl's feed to Jesper Bratt set up the Devils forward perfectly to score and give the Devils a 2-1 lead. New Jersey scored on the first shot Louis Domingue faced, just as the Rangers did the same to Kallgren.

As the Rangers were pressing to find a tying goal, Michael McLeod's goal in the final minute and a half helped extend the Devils lead. However, with 34 seconds left in the third, Brennan Othmannn's goal would bring this game within one. The Rangers weren't able to find the equalizer in the final seconds and New Jersey picked up the win.

Here are some observations from the game:

• The Devils top line of Tyler Toffoli, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt was an exciting one as both Toffoli and Bratt scored and Hughes picked up an assist. After the game, Bratt shared how much fun it was to play with those 'two amazing players' and expects them to continue to stand out with more time together. Bratt also felt their combined speed and awareness helped them stay connected.

“First of all, I think it’s our speed,” Bratt continued. “Our awareness to turn quick and go the other way and create chances when a team is not ready. I think we’re three very skilled guys that know how to find those open areas and I think that’s why we were successful.”

• The Devils split time between goaltenders Akira Schmid and Erik Kallgren with the former starting the game. Schmid played 29 minutes and 20 seconds and stopped all 21 shots he faced."It’s a great place to play, great team to play,” Schmid said following the game.

“I think first preseason game to now already (a) big step from pace wise," Schmid shared. "Obviously I just want to get the reps in and get ready for the year.”

• Kallgren played the remaining 30 minutes and finished the night with 19 saves on 21 shots.

“I thought he played great,” Bratt said on Kallgren. “Obviously the first goal was a great shot and he came right from sitting on the bench for awhile but overall he had some key saves. He kept us in the game the whole time, really came up strong when we needed him. Great game by him too, I know it’s not easy to just jump in the game like that so great performance.”

• The Devils saw quite a few younger players in the lineup against the Rangers including forwards Tyce Thompson, Graeme Clarke, Nolan Foote and defenseman Simon Nemec. Lindy Ruff felt this game was a great opportunity for them to learn against the Rangers who pressured these players to make quick decisions.

“I think they have to understand when the pressure’s on you have to protect pucks,” Ruff shared. “If you expose them, or you don’t keep your body between you and the opposition bad things can happen. A lot of it is winning wall battles, it’s a lot different than playing in the American League. They came down the walls hard, they pressured the puck hard real hard, you got to make good decisions. It was a good lesson. It was a good game to play in for a lot of these young guys.”

• Power Play Chances: The Devils had two power plays in the game, and even though they weren't able to score, they generated eight shots. The first power play unit consisted of Luke Hughes, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Tyler Toffoli and Nolan Foote while the second unit had Graeme Clarke, Simon Nemec, Shane Bowers, Justin Dowling, and Tyce Thompson.

“I really liked our powerplay,” Ruff said. “I thought the power play created some great opportunities. A couple shot passes, we hit the hole, we created some good plays, we moved the puck around real good.”

• Penalty Kill Success: New Jersey was able to kill off all three penalties the Devils had in the game. In New York's first power play, the Rangers had three shots on goal while the Devils held them to only one shot in the second. The Rangers had zero shots on their third power play.

“I thought the last kill was a really important one,” Ruff shared. “I thought we did a great job in it. We’re going to keep working on it daily and keep improving.”

The Devils will practice on Friday before their next preseason game in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Saturday night.