3 Observations From Devils’ Game 1 Loss to Rangers

NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils were unable to solve Igor Shesterkin and the New York Rangers in Game 1, falling by a final score of 5-1. Vladimir Tarasenko, Chris Kreider, Ryan Lindgren, and Filip Chytil all lit the lamp for New York while defenseman Adam Fox collected four assists. Jack Hughes scored the lone goal for New Jersey, his first career playoff goal, via a penalty shot late in the third period. 

1. The Power Play Raises Concern for New Jersey

The Devils were awarded four power play opportunities, including two in the first ten minutes of the game. It was the perfect chance for New Jersey to take an early lead and have momentum swing in their favor. Unfortunately, a couple of strong penalty kills would give all the energy to the Rangers. 

"We got good jump from killing those two penalties early," said Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant after Game 1. "I think that really set our game going. We skated well and managed the puck well." 

The team's play on the man advantage would become the biggest storyline of the night with the team unable to register a single shot on Shesterkin while on the man advantage. 

After the game, Devils' captain Nico Hischier met with the media and when asked what went wrong with the power play he simply said, "We've just got to put more pucks on net." 

2. Devils Can't Take Penalties in the Offensive Zone 

Entering this series, New Jersey knew that one of their opponent's biggest strengths was their power play. While there are very few penalties that could be considered necessary in order to prevent a goal, it was imperative for the Devils to minimize the number of trips they took to the penalty box.

There is no reason to get called for an infraction in the offensive zone, but it happened twice on Tuesday night to a couple of veteran Devils players. In the first period, Miles Wood was called for holding against Artemi Panarin. The Rangers capitalized on their opportunity with Kreider scoring his team's second goal of the game. 

In the second period, Erik Haula was called for holding against Chytil. New York celebrated a goal while the versatile veteran sat in the box, but after further review, it was called back due to the puck going in off a high stick. 

In the third period, frustrations boiled over involving Wood and Rangers' forward Barclay Goodrow. In the middle of the scrum, Michael McLeod was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing the visor of Tyler Motte. McLeod's penalty led to Kreider's second power-play goal of the game. 

3. Jitters Apparent for Ruff's Squad 

Dawson Mercer, Hughes, Jesper Boqvist, Nathan Bastian, McLeod, and Kevin Bahl all experienced their first career playoff game on Tuesday night.

"There were probably a lot of jitters. I think it might be understated how nervous you are to start (because) you don't know what to expect and stuff like that," said Ryan Graves after the game. "Definitely tough." 

By the time the Devils found their legs and settled down it was too late to mount a comeback. Haula addressed the media postgame and talked about lessons being learned. 

"I think there's always jitters, it's just how you handle them," he said. "I think we learned a bit of a lesson, I think we're going to be fine going forward."

The two teams will make the proper adjustments and prepare for Game 2, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 P.M. at Prudential Center.