Rangers Topped by Devils in Shootout, Youngsters a Factor

After losing to the Boston Bruins the night before, the New York Rangers came into New Jersey looking to earn their first pre-season win. They didn't exactly accomplish that goal, but played very well despite the loss in the shootout. The youngsters, especially, were fantastic tonight, and carried the load for the Blueshirts. There were many good signs displayed in this game that I will further discuss in my analysis.

Early on in the contest, the Rangers offense was working well, with a fully-functioning forecheck being applied. That did not last long, however, as Devils forward David Clarkson followed up on his third rebound to give the Devils a 1-0 edge at the conclusion of the first stanza. The Ranger defense was MIA on this play, as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was left out to dry, being forced to try and stop Clarkson on second and third shots, which should not be the case.

Henrik Lundqvist left the game after spending close to thirty minutes between the pipes, in which he was spectacular, and looked sharp in the process with his new Bauer equipment. Lundqvist was replaced by prospect goaltender Chad Johnson, who was great in the Traverse City Tournament last week. Johnson met a rude awakening when Clarkson recorded his second of the game, firing a wrister off of the inside post, beating Johnson blocker side. From there, it was classic Rangers/Devils hockey, which means low scoring and not many chances for either club.

Just three minutes into the third period, Aaron Voros made a great outlet pass to defenseman Matt Gilroy, who blasted right by the Devil defense, and broke in on Yann Danis, scoring on the back-hand. The goal was a beauty, and Ranger fans really got a look at how dynamic this kid is. Later in the period, Hartford Wolf Pack forward, who played with the Rangers tonight, Jordan Owens buried a loose puck to tie the game at two. The play started with great work in the corner by the Rangers, and then slowly led to everyone collapsing to the net, where Owens found the rebound.

The game remained tied through three, which meant Overtime, and eventually, a shootout. The shootout went two six rounds, with both goaltenders putting on a show, until center Travis Zajac beat Johnson top shelf to defeat the Rangers. Matt Gilroy and Zach Parise also registered goals in the shootout.

To begin my highlight players portion of the postgame, I will acknowledge Matt Gilroy, who, once again, was the best player on the ice for the Blueshirts. Gilroy had two spectacular scoring chances, which were created by using his superior speed, and one found the back of the net. Gilroy's hard work in his own zone was endless, and was doing his best to shut down the Devils once they entered the zone. Gilroy has really impressed in both games, and I will now go as far as saying that the 25 year-old will most likely make the defensive cut, resulting in a spot on this year's Ranger roster.

Right behind Gilroy on my list of standouts was goaltender Chad Johnson. Johnson, seeing NHL time for the first time in his life, was nothing short of outstanding tonight. Stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced, the young netminder was calm enough to fool someone into thinking that he is a ten year NHL veteran. After letting in a soft goal early, Johnson shook it right off, and was rock solid throughout the rest of regulation, in overtime, and in the shootout, showing off his spectacular glove hand several times.

Evgeny Grachev played another great game himself, really using his size and speed to create plays tonight. I felt like Grachev and Lisin played well together, and that is a pairing that we could possibly see in the future.

All things considered, we saw a lot from the youngsters in the lineup tonight, and that is what is focused on at the end of the day, in pre-season at least. John Tortorella has some tough decisions to make when it comes to making cuts, and filling this lineup, and we have yet to see some of the other elite prospects the Blueshirts have participating in camp.

The Rangers next pre-season game will be on this Friday night at 7:30 pm, as the boys from New York will go head-to-head with the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit.

That is it for now, but make sure to stop by on Thursday, as I will take a deeper look into the Gaborik situation, and hopefully get some news as to when he will make his pre-season debut.

(Photo courtesy of The Rangers Tribune)