–Ilya Kovalchuk has the lone tally, ending a nine-game drought thanks to a neutral zone turnover which allowed the Russian sniper to break in and beat Henrik Lundqvist only 49 seconds in.

-The Devils controlled the early portion, getting more shots on Lundqvist with a quicker attack that included their D. Notably Marek Zidlicky, who looked good in the first 20.

-The Rangers finally got their forecheck going over the next several minutes and forced Martin Brodeur to make eight stops, including one close call when he didn’t have a tricky Carl Hagelin shot covered with Ryan Callahan close to stuffing it in.

-As has become tradition between these two bitter rivals, fists were exchanged with Ryan Carter and Brandon Dubinsky going at it and big John Scott battling gutsy Cam Janssen. Carter handled Dubinsky while the old Central rivals basically gave as good as they got. Mike Rupp and David Clarkson also exchanged barbs but nothing yet with Clarkson putting together a strong shift in the first that helped the Devs draw a power play.

-The Rangers were 0-1 on the PP with the best chance of course shorthanded by Adam Henrique, who Lundqvist denied. He also robbed Kovalchuk point blank on the New Jersey man-advantage before the end of the period. The Devs still have 27 seconds left on it as the second begins.