Cam Janssen and Brandon Mashinter exchange punches.
AP/Bill Kostroun

It was about what was expected. The Rangers dropped a 2-1 decision to the Devils at The Rock. For preseason, it was alright I guess. The Devils goal scorers were Mattias Tedenby and Eric Gelinas. The Rangers lone tally was scored by Dominic Moore. His first in a Ranger jersey since March 26, 2006 per Andrew Gross.

Cory Schneider established himself early stopping all 22 shots the first two periods before Keith Kinkaid replaced him. Henrik Lundqvist allowed one goal during the first half. A Tedenby finish off a Rotislav Olesz set up. Outside of that, Hank was strong finishing with 14 saves. Cam Talbot was pretty good too turning aside 11 of 12. The only one that beat him was a Gelinas laser through traffic at the conclusion of a Devil power play. Rick Nash had just come out of the box.

Moore’s goal came off hard work. Exactly why Slats brought him back. Thanks to some strong forechecking from Marek Hrivik and Danny Kristo, Dom was the beneficiary getting to a Kristo rebound in front for his first. Kristo was impressive all night. In on the attack, he tested Schneider early and looked good. He and Hrivik worked well with Brian Boyle also who was noticeable. Those four were our best forwards.

The top line of Kreider, Nash and Brad Richards had a few good shifts early. However, they were lazy defensively and didn’t back check. It’s one thing if they score. But quite another if they’re taking chances in the offensive zone and not recovering. Outside of Kreider and Justin Falk watching Tedenby finish, nobody got back on a Devil 3 on 2 rush leaving Talbot to stone Adam Henrique. Falk was brutal, also getting beat badly on another close call, He definitely didn’t make a good first impression.

Another player who made an early statement was Brandon Mashinter. He won his fight against Cam Janssen and showed the kind of toughness that was lacking last year. He’s a big man. Mash landed some rights early in the second period scrap with Janssen, who came on late. Each received an extra two minutes for removing their helmets. Another one of those rule changes I could care less about. That’s more than I can say for Arron Asham, who didn’t do much. Darroll Powe highlighted a strong penalty killing shift by stripping Mark Fayne and drawing a penalty. Powe always hustles but has no other skill. If he could contribute, there’d be a case for keeping him.

The power play had its moments. Initially, Marc Staal pinched and got a quality chance on Schneider, who stood his ground. John Moore had a couple of nice rushes and also nearly set up Kristo with under a minute left in regulation. But Kinkaid gloved Kristo’s redirection. Moore was by far our best defenseman using his speed to jump up while being able to recover. I definitely am excited to see what he can do under Alain Vigneault.

Mike Del Zotto struggled mightily. He remains an enigma. Used on the power play with Staal, he didn’t get shots through and was guilty of a bad pinch leading to an odd man rush. Paired up with Staal, who wore the ‘A,’ Del Zotto failed to pick up a Devil on another opportunity scrambling around. He also attempted a diagonal pass that was easily intercepted by three Devils with Talbot pulled. Why not take the shot? Maybe Kinkaid lets out a rebound. It seems that Del Zotto lacks the hockey IQ. Entering his fifth year, he still mistakes you expect from rookies. Unless that changes, the Rangers would be better off trading him. Don’t get me wrong. He can be an important player. But a lot must change.

Outside of that, it was exhibition. The Devils looked more organized in terms of having their D keep pucks in. Both Gelinas and Alex Urbom (assist) didn’t hurt themselves. I thought Tedenby was their best forward. He scored and also used his skating legs to create other chances. Olesz wasn’t bad either. Adam Larsson had a nice takeout and looked stronger. That’s about it for now. I’m sure Hasan will have more on the Devils later.

The Rangers take on the Flyers tomorrow. Maybe we’ll see Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Anton Stralman. That certainly can’t hurt a D that was a step behind most of the night. I’m sure it’ll get better.