The New York Rangers headed across the river on Thursday night for their first meeting with the New Jersey Devils this year, and the results were not good.
Coming into the game, the Rangers certainly felt good about how the season was going. Through eight games, they had a 6-2 record and were a perfect 5-0 at home. However, despite the Devils not playing at their best, they were able to completely dominate the Rangers in this one.
While the first period was pretty even and uneventful, a mistake late by J.T. Miller resulted in a goal for New Jersey, and they never looked back. Overall, the Devils were able to beat New York by a score of 7-1, and not too much went right for the Rangers in this one.
One bright spot to take away from the game is that Pavel Dorofeyev was able to find the back of the net. Even though the big offseason acquisition has been playing well for the team, he has struggled to find the back of the net early on. However, on the power play, it was Dorofeyev who scored the lone goal for the Rangers, and that can be seen as a positive.
While this was certainly a game to forget, there shouldn’t be any reason to panic after the first poor performance of the season.
No Need to Panic
Anytime a team is blown out in a rivalry game, it is never ideal. So far this season, the team has played really well, but with the injury to Igor Shesterkin, there is concern about what they might be able to accomplish this year.
In the 7-1 loss, it was a tough night for Dylan Garand. The 24-year-old has played well in every chance that he has gotten going back to last season, but this was the first time he faced some adversity in the NHL. While it wasn’t all his fault with some miscues in front of him, the Devils scored four goals in about five minutes of play between the end of the first period and the start of the second.
The wheels certainly came off for Garand and the Rangers during this stretch, and Mike Sullivan ultimately pulled him for Spencer Martin.
While this performance was one to forget, how the team responds will be key. New York will be back in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, and getting back in the win column with a good game will be the goal.
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