Devils Postgame: Devils Fall to Rangers in Physical Preseason Contest

Another day, another game against the New York Rangers for the predominantly AHL-filled lineup for the New Jersey Devils. Coming off the backs of a 3-1 win and a stellar Jeremy Brodeur performance, the Devils took on an NHL-heavy Rangers lineup.

With Isaac Poulter in the crease this time, the Devils fell 5-4

Devils Recap

The Devils started strong, with Brian Halonen and Nathan Legare getting a couple of high-danger chances, but were shut down by Igor Shesterkin. However, it was the Blueshirts who struck first. After Kevin Labanc failed to clear the zone, a Zac Jones point shot beat Poulter glove side. Less than a minute later, the Devils responded after Jakub Zboril followed up his shot and tucked home the rebound to make it 1-1.

The Rangers carried most of the play in the second period. Adam Edstrom scored off his own rebound a la Zboril to make it 2-1 Rangers, but PTO extraordinaire Kevin Labanc tied it a few minutes later when a puck banked off his arm. The Rangers continued to push and broke through late in the second. Back-to-back goals by Victor Mancini and Connor Mackey made it 4-2 Rangers.

The Rangers then opened the third period with a PPG by Vincent Trocheck to make it 5-2. The Devils answered back six minutes later when Labanc wired home his second of the game off of a beautiful shot. A late period goal by Brian Halonen wasn’t enough for the Devils to make the comeback.

Devils Takeaways

Jr. Devils vs the New York Rangers

Despite the talent discrepancy, Kevin Dineen has this group playing good hockey. The Devils came out with a similar level of intensity and were able to counter-punch the Rangers – literally and figuratively. It sure felt like a rivalry game with multiple fights and big hits.

Early on, the Devils were able to hang against a better Rangers lineup than the night before despite the early loss of Artemi Panarin. However, the tide began to turn as the second period waned on. The Ranger owned the shots advantage despite a push from the Devils in the third period, and ended the night outshooting the Devils 37 to 34.

Despite the result, they played valiantly considering the talent disparity, as well as coming off a back-to-back. They’ll have a chance to regroup and get one chance to dawn the Devils sweater when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday night.

Isaac Poulter

After a stellar performance by Jeremy Brodeur, Isaac Poulter tried his best to replicate it. In his first taste of game action all preseason, Poulter opened the first period, stopping 15 of 16 Rangers shots. The first Ranger goal came off of a Kaapo Kakko tip in front but was otherwise stellar to start the game.

His second period picked up right where the first left off. The ice began to tilt heavily in favor of the Rangers, but Poulter stood tall, saving a high-danger chance from the high slot in the opening minutes of the period. His second period was good for the majority, having stopped a barrage of Rangers shots, but it came falling apart late in the period. Two goals 28 seconds apart soured what was a good performance up until then.

His night would end after two periods, unfortunately. Despite the four goals, he made a few quality saves and stopped 26 of 30 shots.

Physical for Preseason

It’s always a war when the Devils and Rangers face off, but tonight had a little extra juice. Per usual, Matt Rempe got it all kicked off, landing a big hit early in the first. A couple more big hits ensued, one in particular by Jackson Van De Leest, which led to the first fight of the night. Fight number two came with under a minute left in the first when Mike Hardman and Sam Carrick dropped the gloves.

No love was lost in the second when Nathan Legare and Connor Mackey dropped the mitts. While the Devils hung in there, the Rangers had the edge in terms of physicality. At the halfway point of the game, they had a 14 to 5 hits advantage.

Early in the third, a large scrum broke out after Dylan Wendt took out Chad Ruhwedel in the corner, a scrum that involved – you guessed it – Matt Rempe. As the game wore on the physicality started to die out, but the overall intensity of this game was abnormal for what you’d see in a typical preseason game. At the end of the night, the Rangers ended up with the hits advantage, 21 to 12.

For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

Follow us on 𝕏:

@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL, @NickNatale10

And on Threads:

@JamesNicholsNHL