On Thursday evening, the New Jersey Devils headed east to face their rival New York Rangers for what was essentially their last true preseason contest, as head coach Sheldon Keefe said most of their starters will sit for Saturday’s finale in Philly. Despite some rocky moments, the Devils fought through and grinded out a 3-1 victory.
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Quick Anecdote: Slow Start
Slow starts have plagued the Devils in recent seasons, and after they dominated puck possession for the first half of the opening frame, they had nothing going for them. They had just six shots after two periods despite 13 scoring chances: a result of missing the net far too often. (via Natural Stat Trick)
Cotter & Gritsyuk Connection
For the umpteenth time this camp, Arseny Gritsyuk showed he belongs in the NHL. First, he wired a quick shot off the crossbar with wicked velocity. A few minutes later, he used a burst of speed to create a 2-on-1 rush, where Rangers defenseman Scott Morrow clearly had to respect his lethal shot, drawing towards Gritsyuk. In turn, Gritsyuk turned Morrow into a pretzel with a perfect feed to Paul Cotter, who buried it.
“I think that [Gritsyuk]’s going to be such an amazing player in this league,” said Cotter. “His everyday approach is ‘How can I get better?’ and positivity…it’s fun to play with a guy who has that ability to learn, but also has confidence and skill, and he’s not afraid to use it. I mean, we’re the fourth line out there, but it doesn’t look like it with the way he’s making plays.”
Jacob Markstrom Strong
Preseason should be taken with a grain of salt, but Jacob Markstrom has looked solid in every appearance he’s made. It was no different tonight, as he stopped 19 of 20 (.950%), including two key high danger saves late.
The lone goal he gave up was an unavoidable freak accident as a Simon Nemec clearing attempt ricocheted off Adam Edstrom and through Markstrom’s five hole. No goaltender in the league could have reacted quick enough. But he didn’t let that shake him whatsoever; instead, he got stronger. The advanced numbers backed up his stellar play, as he stopped +0.45 goals above expected.
Eddy finds the back of the net. pic.twitter.com/OiPRd1YeRm
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 3, 2025
Simon Nemec‘s (Mostly) Dominant Night
It’s a borderline crime that Simon Nemec only had one point tonight — that’s how effective he was. He was confident and poised in all three zones, and at times, looked head and shoulders above the rest.
Unfortunately, the glaring mistake is what will stick with most people, but the numbers are undeniable. When Nemec was on the ice, the Devils out chanced the Rangers 16-5, including 7-3 in high danger chances. Last year’s Nemec may have let a tough moment like that spiral out of control, but he didn’t lose his swagger whatsoever.
He did not have a single giveaway in 23:13 of ice time. He also has not shied away from physicality all camp; there was even an instance where he got tangled up with the 6-foot-9 Matt Rempe and did not back down.
“He’s been assertive and confident all camp and preseason here,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “It’s partially a mistake, partially unfortunate, and a bad bounce that’s unlikely to occur again. So I was happy that he dusted himself off pretty quickly.”
Final Note: Brett Pesce Injury
Brett Pesce left the game with an undisclosed injury and was not on the bench for the entirety of the third period. Keefe said postgame that there is no update and they are awaiting word to find out whether he’ll miss any time.
The Devils will return to action on Saturday as they hit the road to take on the Philadelphia Flyers (12:30 PM EDT).