5 things learned from Sept. 24 preseason games

With the start of the NHL regular season Oct. 3, NHL.com Is taking a closer look at the players, teams and stories that are making headlines in the preseason.
Here are five things we learned from the preseason games Monday:

Devilish line

Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri skated on the New Jersey Devils' top line for the first time this preseason. They combined for seven points (three goals, four assists) in a 4-3 overtime loss against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Each member of the line was without a point in one preseason game, but Palmieri had three points (one goal, two assists), and Hall (one goal, one assist) and Hischier (one goal, one assist) had two apiece.
"Getting our timing down is pretty key, trying to find space," Palmieri said. "I don't think we did a great job in the first. We were a little shaky coming out of our own zone and that kind of slowed us up in the neutral zone. We were a little better in the second, and in the third period we had good looks in the offensive zone, so we'll keep working on that, working on breakouts."
Hall scored off assists from Palmieri and Hischier 9:08 into the third period to tie the game 3-3.
"I thought that line played really well together, and I thought they got better and better as the game went on," Devils coach John Hynes said. "That was something we were looking for in the game, getting those guys back together and seeing how they feel and I thought they did a good job."

Stempniak hoping to stick

Lee Stempniak, who is on a professional tryout with the Boston Bruins, made a positive impression with three points (one goal, two assists) in a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was asked if Stempniak has done enough to make the roster out of camp. The 35-year-old forward has five points (one goal, four assists) in three preseason games.
"He could," Cassidy said. "He's come in here and done what we've asked him to do, which is make plays, have composure, make good decisions with the puck and still be a good 200-foot player. We've seen some young mistakes out of our young players that we're going to allow them to play through, but at the same token we have to address what's best for the club."
Stempniak has played 13 NHL seasons with 10 teams and has 469 points (203 goals, 266 assists) in 909 games. He was limited to nine points (three goals, six assists) in 37 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season because of a broken clavicle.
"I had a great summer of training and feel completely healthy," Stempniak said. "It's probably the best I've felt in three or four years. I want to come out and prove that I'm healthy, and that I can contribute."

Benn scores twice

Jamie Benn scored his first two goals of the preseason to help the Dallas Stars to a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center.
Benn, who led the Stars with seven shots on goal in 16:38 of ice time, played on a line with center Roope Hintz (one goal, one assist) and right wing Alexander Radulov (one assist). His second goal 11:50 into the third period gave the Stars a 4-3 lead.
"Just two good plays by Roope and [Radulov]," said Benn on his second goal. "Just kind of a shot I shoot every time. Look at the goalie, and I know where I am going to shoot that puck."
Benn has four points (two goals, two assists) in three preseason games. He led the Stars with 79 points (36 goals, 43 assists) and seven game-winning goals in 82 games last season.
"I felt good," Benn said. "I'm just trying to work on my game out there and fine-tune some things. The first two [preseason games] were average and that was a little better for me."

Ehlers steps up for Jets

Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers wasn't satisfied with his preseason performances, so he scored two goals, including the game-winner 31 seconds into overtime, to make amends in a 5-4 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.
"Physically I'm there but things haven't really been going the way I've wanted it to," Ehlers told the Winnipeg Sun on Sunday. "I haven't skated the way I've wanted to, and that's my game. I've got to get back to that. I've got to skate and work for every single puck."
Ehlers entered the game with two shots on goal in two games but led the Jets with six shots in 17:34 of ice time against the Flames. His winning goal occurred after he stole the puck in front of his net and skated end-to-end before scoring off a slap shot from the right circle.
"It's always nice getting the win and being the one to score the winner but, like I said, in my first two games I had just two shots but had 10 attempts (Monday)," Ehlers said. "It's not just about shooting the puck but having that mentality of looking for a lane and if you don't see anyone to pass it to who is open, get the puck to the net and see what happens. I did that tonight."

Gibson gets to work

John Gibson made a strong preseason debut for the Anaheim Ducks with 29 saves in a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Honda Center.
The 25-year-old goaltender, who signed an eight-year contract extension Aug. 4, made 17 saves on 18 shots in the third period to secure the win.
"It was the first game in a while, so you don't expect it to be perfect, but as the game went on, I felt more comfortable and it just felt normal," Gibson said. "It was good to get in a full game and get back into the swing of things. We wanted to have a good performance. It's always good to play with a lead and take care of the lead, and it was good that we locked it down."
Gibson has a .923 save percentage in his NHL career, the highest among goaltenders to play at least 150 games since 1955-56 (when shots on goal became an official NHL statistic), ahead of Hockey Hall of Famers Ken Dryden, Johnny Bower and Dominik Hasek, and Tuukka Rask (.922 each). He is 93-55-20 with a 2.29 goals-against average and 16 shutouts in 178 NHL games (171 starts), and 11-13 with a 2.80 GAA and .912 save percentage in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Here's the full schedule for Tuesday (all times ET):

Blue Jackets vs. Sabres, 7 p.m., at Clinton Arena, Clinton, New York (NBCSN)
Panthers at Lightning, 7:30 p.m.
Hurricanes at Predators, 8 p.m. (FS-TN, FS-CR)
Capitals at Blues, 8 p.m. (NBCSWA)
Red Wings at Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. (NBCSCH+)
Sharks at Flames, 9 p.m.
Canucks at Oilers, 9 p.m. (NHLN, SN1)