New Jersey earned their third preseason victory at Madison Square Garden.

The New Jersey Devils remain perfect this preseason. The club left Madison Square Garden with a 3-2 victory, with goals from Tyler Toffoli, Jesper Bratt, and Michael McLeod. By the final horn, seven players, including three young defensemen, found their names on the scoresheet.

"I thought the effort was good," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said during his postgame presser. "It was a competitive game. I thought a real good first period. I thought (we) started the second okay, and then the Rangers took over for 12, 13 minutes. I thought the last 5-6 (minutes of the second) was good. Then I thought the third period I thought we played well. Left a lot of chances out there, but we expected a push. I thought we saw the best of them in the second period."

Lineup versus Rangers

New Jersey

Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt

Nolan Foote - Michael McLeod - Graeme Clarke

Max Willman - Tomas Nosek - Curtis Lazar

Shane Bowers - Justin Dowling - Tyce Thompson

Luke Hughes - Colin Miller

Kevin Bahl - John Marino

Tyler Wotherspoon - Simon Nemec

Akira Schmid

Erik Karlgren

New York:

Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Alexis Lafrenière

Will Cuylle - Jonny Brodzinski - Kaapo Kakko

Brennan Othmann - Nick Bonino - Blake Wheeler

K'Andre Miller - Adam Fox

Erik Gustafsson - Braden Schneider

Zac Jones - Ty Emberson

Igor Shesterkin (1st & 2nd Period)

Louis Domingue (3rd Period)

Five Things

1. Ladies and Gentlemen, Akira Schmid

"(He's) already becoming a Rangers nemesis." - play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen.

Schmid picked up right where he left off in Game 7 of Round 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He looked poised and comfortable in net, stopping nine shots in the opening frame. Early in the second period, he found himself under siege, but his composure once again shined through as he stopped all 19 shots faced.

"It seemed like he was comfortable in this building right from the start," said Bratt during his postgame press conference. "He had no mistakes. He had an amazing game. Really gave us some key saves there early. Great performance by him. It was good to see he's back in postseason (form)."

"It's the most famous arena in the world," said Schmid after the game. "It's always fun to play here."

2. An Offensive Night for the Defense

New Jersey's young defense made an impact, with Hughes, Nemec, and Bahl contributing offensively.

With a little over a minute left in the first period, Nemec received the puck from J. Hughes and passed to Toffoli for the game's opening goal. He finished the game with two shots on goal and looked right at home in the offensive zone.

L. Hughes and Bahl earned assists on Bratt's first preseason goal in the third period. The 6-foot-6 New Westminster native skated up ice and got the puck to the Swede, who quickly got the puck past Shesterkin. After the game, Ruff praised Bahl's performance, saying, "Kevin had a really good game."

3. NHL Hopefuls Stand Out

Thompson, Foote, and Clarke are all fighting for a regular spot in the Devils lineup and were noticeably combining for 10 of New Jersey's 27 shots.

Thompson had arguably the strongest outing of the three, with four shots and a shorthanded breakaway opportunity that was eventually denied. He's collected one goal in two preseason games and has been noticeable on the ice.

Foote finished the game with three shots, one hit, and one blocked shot. In less than a minute, Shesterkin made three key saves on Foote's three high-danger chances while New Jersey was on the man advantage. Clarke had some good opportunities throughout the game but was unable to capitalize. He finished the contest with three shots.

4. The Development of Michael McLeod

McLeod is having a solid training camp; there is no denying it. The 25-year-old is thriving in his fourth-line center role and has two goals in two preseason games. There appears to be a newfound confidence in his game, and according to Ruff, there should be.

"He should have a lot of confidence with how he finished the year, how he played in the playoffs and the big goal he scored against the (New York) Rangers."

Regarding fourth-line players, the Devils may have one of the best in the league with the 12th overall pick.

5. Special Teams Trending in the Right Direction

The Devils are still mixing and matching, trying to find the perfect combinations for their special teams, and so far, things are trending in a positive direction.

"I really liked our power play," said Ruff. I thought the power play created some great opportunities, a couple of shot passes, we hit the hole, we made some good plays, and moved the puck around really good. I thought penalty killing, the last kill, was a real important one. I thought we did a great job. We're gonna keep working on it daily and just try to keep improving."