Hockey is back! Okay, so it’s pre-season hockey, but that still counts, just not in the standings. 

Sunday afternoon, at Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils opened their pre-season slate of games with a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers. Neither team played its regulars, outside of a couple players, so this game was more about getting reps and establishing early favorites for who might break camp with their respective NHL team. 

For New Jersey, it appears that highly-touted right-wing prospect Arseny Gritsyuk has the inside track for an NHL job, but that is in no way secured. In fact, Sunday’s pre-season action was his first game wearing a Devils’ sweater, having played in Russia his whole life. 

As Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe stated before the game, “(It’s) all the little things away from the puck. The energy. The speed, comprehension of the things we’re talking about in terms of our style of play and system. And then, you know, he is an offensive player, so you put him in a game like this where he can play in more prominent offensive situations, power-play and those sorts of things. And then, the expectation, or hope, is that he can make a play and be confident in who he is offensively. So, that’s really it. When you really boil it down, each player has an identity of who they are. So go out and be that.”

In other words, don’t stress out about the “counting stats.” This game was not about that. It was about seeing Gritsyuk adjust and adapt to his new team. Then, once he gets adjusted, the rest should, hopefully, fall into place. 

Viewing the game through that lens, it was a successful debut for the 24-year-old, former 5th-round draft pick. He started the game on the right wing, with Cody Glass at center and Paul Cotter on the left wing. His game-opening shift lasted approximately 35 seconds and was mainly confined to the Devils’ zone. 

In total, Gritsyuk played 18:28 while recording one goal, one assist, six shots on goal and a minus-one rating while seeing 6:07 of power-play time. In addition, the 24-year-old had an iCF (individual Corsi) of nine, which was the best on the team and an iSCF (individual scoring chances for) of four, which was tied for second-best on the team. He also chipped in three hits, good enough to tie him for the fourth-highest total on the team. To put it simply, he was a possession and creation machine. 

When asked how he felt after the game, Gritsyuk quipped, “I am tired.”

His linemate, Paul Cotter, chimed in after the game, saying, “It’s great playing with him. Obviously, it’s a whole new league and it’s a whole new world basically for him. So, you know, maybe it took him a period to adjust, which is pretty quick. Super skilled, obviously. You see the caliber of shot he had on that last one. Joyful guy to be around and will be a huge add to our team.”

Speaking of highly-touted prospects, New York’s Gabe Perreault scored the first goal of the game 3:12 into the first period, from just below the hash marks, off a nice centering feed from behind the net from Casey Fitzgerald, the son of Devils’ GM, Tom Fitzgerald, who is in Rangers’ camp trying to open some eyes. 

Perreault’s goal was New York’s first shot of the game against Devils’ netminder Jake Allen, who only played the first period before yielding the net to Nico Daws as part of Keefe’s pre-game plan. And yes, Gritsyuk was one of the Devils on the ice during the goal.

9:21 into the first period, Conor Sheary was sent to the box for tripping Angus Crookshank. Gritsyuk started the power-play along the near wall and managed one shot on goal before coming off for the second unit. That’s when Brian Halonen fired a laser beam of a one-timer from the top of the left face-off circle to beat Jonathan Quick and tie the game 1-1 at 10:55. 

New Jersey’s special teams were back in action when Ethan Edwards was called for slashing Jonny Brodzinski at 13:39 of the opening period. On the penalty-kill for the first time in the game, the Devils allowed three shots on goal, but managed to keep the puck out of the net. 

The Devils remained perfect on special teams when they killed off Halonen’s high-sticking penalty against Urho Vaakanainen at 16:14 of the first period. This time, they only allowed one shot on goal. 

While Nico Daws replaced Jake Allen to start the second period, Jonathan Quick remained in net for the Rangers for the first 8:16 of the period before yielding to Dylan Garand. 

Dylan Roobroeck scored New York’s second goal of the game, 3:11 into the second period, off a second-chance rebound that snuck past Daws, 2-1 Rangers. Matt Rempe was credited with the assist after Daws turned aside the big man’s first attempt at crashing the net with the puck. 

Conor Sheary and Scott Morrow combined to score two goals for the Rangers 1:43 apart, to increase the Devils’ deficit to 4-1 late in the second period. Of note, Gritsyuk was on the ice for the Sheary goal, making him a minus-two on the day.

The young winger somewhat made up for that with a silky sweet pass to feed Paul Cotter for a goal at 15:52 of the second period, drawing New Jersey within 4-2. But then, 1:01 later, Jonny Brodzinski sniped the puck past Daws to give the Rangers a 5-2 lead. 

Nathan Legare wasn’t happy about the turn of events and dropped the gloves with Nathan Aspinall for a brief altercation that momentarily sparked the crowd. Half a minute later, Vaakanainen was sent to the box for holding Juho Lammikko, giving the Devils their second power-play opportunity of the game. 

However, New Jersey’s run of special teams perfection ended as they were unable to convert on the man-advantage. So, the score remained 5-2 New York as the second period came to an end. 

The third period brought with it some nastiness as several scrums broke out throughout the period. One of the first was with 9:30 left in the game when Legare dropped the gloves with Matt Rempe. It was Legare’s second fisticuffs of the game (and his second loss). Gritsyuk was engaged in a group scrum later in the period and Brennan Othman caused another to break out after he elbowed Calen Addison in the face.

“I thought he (Gritsyuk) got better as the game wore on,” Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “He looked to get a little more comfortable, had the puck on his stick a little bit more in the second half of the game, which usually helps a talented guy to get more comfortable…Good first game for him. He’s gonna play a lot this pre-season.”

Finally, with New Jersey on a five-on-three power-play with 1:39 left in the game, Gritsyuk, who had moved over to his more comfortable right side, fired a one-timer from the right face-off dot past Garand to bring the Devils within 5-3, netting his first goal (of the pre-season).

In his broken English after the game and speaking occasionally through a translator, Gritsyuk explained the move as, “I’m starting to play the left side on the power-play. I am playing like a couple times in Russia and when we have last power-play, I go right side and I say, ‘this my time.'”

When the final horn sounded at the end of the third period, the score read Rangers 5, Devils 3. During the season, that result would not be accepted. But here, in the pre-season, with process taking precedence over results, it’s just another day at the office (rink). For the most part, Gritsyul played well and that is good news for the Devils, who will next play the Islanders, Tuesday night at Prudential Center. 

But as Paul Cotter put it after the game, “It’s good to get back out there. Sucks losing to those guys, especially. (I) don’t care if it’s preseason or not.”