The New Jersey Devils hit the ice once again and on home ice. The Devils, who carried a squad littered with minor leaguers with the big club already in Prague, were on the search for their first preseason win of the year.
Also, former legendary goalie Martin Brodeur saw his son Jeremy Brodeur took the crease. The Devils went on to defeat the Rangers 3-1, finally notching their first preseason win of the year.
Game Recap
First Period
The Devils came out charged and took it to the Rangers heavily in this first period. Specifically, they made a living off the breakaway and getting behind the Rangers defense.
Seven minutes into the period, Brian Halonen took a stretch pass from Max Willman and slid the puck through the five hole of Jonathan Quick. Moments later, Nathan Legarge took a breakout pass from Laberge and once again slid it past Quick.
It was a strong finish for the Devils the rest of the way and they took a 2-0 lead into the second period.
Second Period
There was no scoring in this period, but it had tremendous pace. Despite only 12:01 of total time being played at five-on-five, the Devils managed to outplay the Rangers. They finished with a Corsi-for percentage of 66.67 and outshot the Rangers 7-3. Also, they got plenty of key saves from Brodeur, which was great to see.
The Devils did a lot of good things offensively. They dominated in scoring chances (10-3) and controlled the expected goals share by a wide margin. Despite this, the period was scoreless.
Third Period
Much like the first period, the Devils found the back of the net and managed to extend their lead. Special teams became the factor on this goal, thanks to professional try-out forward Kevin Lebanc. After winning the faceoff, Andy Welinski fed a pass to Lebanc who rifled it to shelf to make it 3-0.
The Devils had the Rangers on the brink, forcing them to pull the goalie, giving them a 6-on-4 power play. Adam Erne broke the shutout but it was too late. The Devils killed it off and once the horn sounded, the final score read 3-1.
Like the first period, 12 minutes of the period was played at five-on-five. The Devils ultimately sat back and played passive, as the Rangers heavily out-attempted New Jersey, 17-4. ‘They generated more shots on goal and controlled the expected goals share by a wide margin. The Devils goaltending stood tall and proved to be a huge difference.
Game Notes
- A Brodeur being good against the Rangers? Not the first we’ve seen that. Brodeur was sharp, stopping 29 of 30 shots he faced and finished the game with a .967 save percentage. He was perfect in the high-danger areas of the ice, and made numerous key saves.
- Kevin Lebanc had a strong game for the Devils. He scored a goal and the offensive impacts were there. At five-on-five, Lebanc finished with a CF% of 76.47 and the expected goal differential was 1.25-0.08. The scoring chances were 12-0, and the Devils were effective in the high danger areas of the ice too. For a guy on a PTO, this was a strong showing.
What’s Next?
The Devils head across the bridge to Madison Square Garden for a rematch Tuesday night against the Rangers.