Sunday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils lost their preseason opener at home to the New York Rangers, 5-3. A barrage of goals from the Rangers in the second period helped them to the win. The Devils fall to 0-1-0 in the preseason.
Recap
Period One
The first period was a tight one with chances on both sides. The Rangers struck first just a few minutes in, Gabe Perreault fired a puck past Jake Allen to make it 1-0. Shortly after, the Devils went on the power play where they scored. Brian Halonen fired a shot near-side past Jonathan Quick to tie the game.
The rest of the period was filled with some great saves by both Allen and Quick to keep both of their teams even at one.
Period Two
Nico Daws replaced Jake Allen for the final two frames. Right off the bat, Daws let a dribbling puck squeak through him off the stick of Dylan Roobroeck to make it 2-1 Rangers. Just over halfway through the period, a bad turnover at center ice by Cody Glass led to a breakaway goal for Conor Sheary. Less than two minutes after that, Daws let another leaky goal through. A shot from the point by Scott Morrow got by and all of a sudden it was 4-1 Rangers.
The Devils responded shortly after with a goal of their own. Arseny Gritsyuk and Paul Cotter had a nice give-and-go which ended in a goal for Cotter. The Devils made it 4-2, but not for long as a minute and one second later Johnny Brodzinski whacked home a rebound to put the Rangers back up by three. After two periods, the score was 5-2 Rangers.
Period Three
The third period flew by until the very end. With just over three minutes to go in the game, Brennan Othmann was tagged for a five-minute elbowing penalty. The Devils would then get a five-on-three where they got a little closer. Arseny Gritsyuk capped off his afternoon with a rocket of a goal to make it 5-3.
Despite a late push by the Devils on the power play, nothing would come of it. The Rangers held on to take the game 5-3.
Game Notes
A Good Debut
Arseny Gritsyuk’s Devils debut was the most highly anticipated part of this game, and he delivered. After a poor start when a missed defensive assignment cost the Devils a goal, Gritsyuk was great with a goal and an assist.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said that we would be seeing a lot more of the Russian over the next couple of weeks. If he can play every game like Sunday’s, Gritsyuk will be well on his way to a roster spot.
Nico Daws Struggles
Nico Daws is in a very interesting situation. Coming into camp he is the de facto third string goalie, but given his age, and waiver status, that may not be the case in a few weeks. The Devils are hoping that Daws, who is waiver eligible for the first time, can clear and stick with the organization.
Sunday was not a good day for Daws, who allowed four goals on seven shots in the second period and 13 total. The one upside to a performance like the one Nico had today is that it may deter other teams from trying to take the young netminder.
What’s Next
The Devils next preseason game is at the Prudential Center, Tuesday against the New York Islanders at 7:00 pm ET.