The New York Rangers played their first exhibition road game of the season against the New Jersey Devils and it did not go well.
Despite coming out of the gate the aggressor, things turned sour quick and the Blueshirts really never recovered. The Devils just kept coming and walked away with a pretty easy win at the Prudential Center.
Recap: Devils 5 vs Rangers 1
The Blueshirts came out strong with their experimental lines, but it was the Devils who would strike first at the 15:30 mark of the opening stanza. PK Subban used his cannon of a shot that also deflected off a Ranger defender in front past Shesterkin for the 1-0 lead.
Then with rookie Nils Lundkvist off for hooking, the Devils grabbed a 2-0 lead. Jacob Trouba blocked a shot from the circle but the rebound went right on the stick of Janne Kuokkanen in the slot. He buried the chance for a power play goal with just 8 ticks left in the penalty.
Things didn’t get any better as Tyce Thompson was left untouched in front and buried a rebound for NJ’s third goal of the period. K’Andre Miller was having a rough game with coverage, and Shesterkin wasn’t fairing much better with his rebound control.
The Rangers got on the board with a Mika Zibanejad power play blast. Barclay Goodrow got the puck over to Nils Lundkvist, who moved it quick to 93 for a one-timer. That brought the score to 3-1 NJ as the period ended.
The second period began with the news that Vitali Kravtsov would not return due to a lower body injury. He was replaced by Lauri Pajuniemi on the top line. Eventually, Barclay Goodrow was moved to replace him.
New York would come out flying again and drew two quick penalties for a 5 on 3 advantage, but Jonathan Bernier made some excellent stops to keep the Rangers at bay. Then on a delayed penalty, Tomas Tatar made it 4-1 Devils. Shesterkin finished the game after 31:21 stopping 16 of 20 shots for an .800 SV%.
Barclay Goodrow was one of the more notable Rangers in an otherwise forgetful game. He missed on a shorthanded breakaway, and then drew a penalty in the waning minutes.
The star of the contest was Bernier, who made a remarkable stop on Pajuniemi in the third period. With the net wide open, Bernier made a diving glove save to rob the rookie. He finished with 24 saves on 25 shots.
When it was all said and done the Devils embarrassed the Rangers with three more goals in the third for a 7-1 final. The Rangers get a shot at redemption in Boston tomorrow night.
Rangers notables
- Kravtsov was limited to just 5:44 of ice time before leaving with injury
- Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller were each a -4
- Zac Jones led all NYR defenseman with 23:20, he finished a -1
- Barclay Goodrow was noticeable all game picking up an assist in 18:55 TOI
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