There were times in the first period of their 3-1 preseason loss Thursday that the New York Rangers appeared to be getting run out of Madison Square Garden by the New Jersey Devils.
Stuck in their own end defending shift after shift, the Rangers barely crossed center ice during that fast-paced opening period, which featured few whistles and almost exclusive puck ownership by the Devils.
Though the eye test wasn’t pretty, the Rangers actually acquitted themselves pretty darn well. Without requiring heroics from goalie Jonathan Quick to save them, the Rangers escaped the first period trailing 1-0.