If the preparatory meetings are a taste of what awaits the Devils this season, New Jersey fans can rejoice. The team scored its sixth victory in as many games on Wednesday at the Prudential Center, beating the New York Rangers 5-2.
No club is doing better than the “Devils” during this preseason. Led by their young players, they continued to fill the net, having never scored fewer than three goals in a match.
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Author of a hat trick against the Islanders on Monday, Jesper Bratt added more by breaking the ice in the first period. Luke Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier then imitated him. Veteran Ondrej Palat oversaw everything with three assists.
On the Rangers side, Alexis Lafrenière did not participate in this meeting. Will Cuylle, who is trying to carve out a position with the big club, earned points by shaking the ropes in the second period. Adam Fox was the other scorer for the Blueshirts.
The unrecognizable Jackets
In Columbus, the Buffalo Sabers sent most of their young players into the fray and they were greeted by the offensive machine of the Blue Jackets, who won 5-3.
First-year player Adam Fantilli scored his first goal of the preseason. If the third overall pick in the 2023 draft is one to watch, it appears Emil Bemstrom will be one as well. The Swede is having an excellent camp, scoring and collecting a seventh point in four games.
The snipers Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau also defeated Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, author of 28 saves.
For the Sabres, another member of the 2023 vintage, Zach Benson, hit the target a second time in a row against the Jackets.
Ouellet is still there
Recently recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Xavier Ouellet stood out in a 2-1 losing cause against the Detroit Red Wings.
The former captain of the Laval Rocket scored a very nice goal with a backhand shot, completing the play started by Jansen Harkins at point blank range. The latter, claimed on waivers earlier this week, has certainly risen in the esteem of the “Pens” staff, which is still in evaluation mode.
Except that Pittsburgh lost a second game in eight days against the Wings. Each time, it was Alex Nedeljkovic who kept the net for the 60 minutes, but the goalkeeper did not do enough against his former club.
Daniel Sprong and Simon Edvinsson sparkled the lantern for Detroit.