The New Jersey Devils took on the New York Rangers in their second scheduled preseason game and it ended the same was as the first: with a loss.
There were some positives but when all was said and done the Devils' score was doubled as they fell 6-3 to their biggest rival.
Some thoughts:
- The Devils need Adam Larsson to take the next step this season after signing him to a long-term contract over the summer and it seems like he's ready to do just that as Larsson was one of the best players on the ice. He scored a nice goal on the man advantage, had two shots and five hits while logging over 23 minutes of ice and playing on both the power play and penalty kill.
Perhaps most impressive about Larsson's showing was that he had a plus-9 shot attempt differential (17 for, 8 against) at even-strength despite starting just 17% of his shifts in the offensive zone. By all measurements he was very good last night.
- Stefan Matteau had a brutal turnover that led to a goal against on his first shift but I thought he played fairly well after that. He had a shot, a hit, a block and was a 56% possession player when all was said and done. I also thought Matteau made a couple nice passes - like one to a trailing Marc-Andre Gragnani - but nothing came of them.
- I was surprisingly impressed by Mike Sislo in last night's game. He was quick to loose pucks and did a nice job of pushing the pace when he was on the ice. He finished the game with a goal, three shots and two hits in a little more than 12 minutes of ice. His goal was a dirty one but it was nice to see him rewarded for his efforts.
- I thought there was some good and some bad with Tyler Kennedy. He did a nice job distributing the puck - he finished with a pair of assists - and had some jump in his step early but I think he tailed off a bit as the game progressed. He took a minor and came out negative in shot attempt differential (8 for, 11 against) despite starting 80% of his shifts in the offensive zone.
- It's nice to see Tanner Glass is in midseason form.
Here's Tanner Glass initiating with Jiri Tlusty then flipping out after he retaliated. https://t.co/meYEatMCUg
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) September 22, 2015Recent Posts On the signing of David Schlemko