(SAT) RANGERS SLIDE CONTINUES WITH LOSS TO DEVILS 

     Game Summary                                  NJD: K. Kincaid (W)   NYR: O. Pavelec (L)       Event Summary

–       SHOOTING GALLERY – The Rangers registered 31 shots on goal in tonight’s game, and 14 of 18 Rangers recorded at least one shot on goal. The Blueshirts have recorded 30 or more shots on goal in each of the last three games and in five of six games thus far in 2017-18.

–       HOT AT THE DOT – New York won 36 of 63 faceoffs in tonight’s contest (57.1%). The Rangers have posted a 50.0% faceoff win percentage or better in four of six games this season.

–       FIRST IN SCORE – The Rangers have registered the first goal of the game in each of the last two games and in three of the last four contests.

–       HITTING MACHINE – The Blueshirts were credited with 34 hits in tonight’s game, and 14 of 18 skaters registered at least one hit in the contest.

–       FULL HOUSE – Tonight’s game was the Rangers’ 277th consecutive sellout (230 regular season games, 47 playoff games over the span). The Blueshirts’ sellout streak dates back to November 3, 2011.

–       Rick Nash registered the first goal of the game, tied for the game-high with four shots on goal, was credited with two hits and posted a plus-one rating. Nash has recorded a goal/point in eight of his last 15 games against the Devils, tallying 10 points (nine goals, one assist) over the span. He leads the Rangers in shots on goal this season (25).

–       Kevin Shattenkirk tallied a goal and tied for the game-high with four shots on goal. He has recorded a point in four of six games this season, and he is tied for the team lead in points thus far in 2017-18 (five; two goals, three assists).

–       J.T. Miller recorded an assist, won 10 of 12 faceoffs (83.3%), and led all skaters with four takeaways in 19:57 of ice time.

–       David Desharnais notched his first assist/point as a Ranger was credited with two hits, and posted a plus-one rating.

–       Ondrej Pavelec made 16 saves while making his first start as a member of the Rangers.

–       Jesper Fast led all skaters with seven hits in 15:14 of ice time while making his 2017-18 season debut in tonight’s game.

• Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers head coach

On what changed from the first to second period…

“Turnovers. We turned the puck over. We couldn’t play as fast as we did in the first period and they capitalized on a couple of their looks.”

On what can be done to prevent turnovers…

“It’s better decision making. We came out really strong and made the right decisions with the puck which permitted us to play a fast game. We weren’t able to capitalize on some of our looks but you have to keep playing the right way and if you do you’ll be rewarded. In the second period, we had too many costly turnovers. We started the third period with a couple of unwarranted penalties on our part and tried to battle back but came up short.”

On Jesper Fast’s play…

“He looked alright. For no preseason games, he didn’t have any exhibition games, didn’t have a lot of practice on a regular line. I thought he skated well and competed real hard like he always does.”

On the overall mindset…

“We’re going to get to work Monday and focus on the areas we need to improve. That’s what we can control right now. We need to control that. We showed in tonight’s game for probably 35 minutes that we can play a real strong game. Quick-checking game and play fast with the puck. We need to capitalize more on our opportunities and we’re going to continue to work come Monday.”                 

• John Hynes, New Jersey Devils head coach 

On the team’s strong play even without key players like Zajac and Boyle…

“I think it’s a tribute to the guys who are in the lineup right now. It’s something that we talked about in the offseason and then in the preseason, trying to earn some respect back in the league and playing with some pride to make ourselves relevant again. The players that have been in the lineup thus far have really done a great job.”

On Keith Kinkaid’s strong play…

“Keith played very well. He was a huge difference in the game, particularly in the first period because we could have been out of the game if it weren’t for him. Credit to him for keeping us in and giving us a chance to win, and credit his teammates for picking themselves up and getting after it in the second and third periods.”

• Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers defenseman

On the team not playing a full 60 minutes…

“It’s been the story thus far in our season.  There’s no one we want to blame but ourselves, the guys in this room here, the guys in the lineup every night.  The coaches have been preparing us here, going through our meetings and we know what’s expected of us and we’re simply not performing.  We’re not playing the way we need to play, every single one of us.  We have maybe one or two guys going a night here and that’s not a winning formula.  We just have to keep our heads up here, keep working hard, and find a way to get better results here, individually and as a group.”

On what happens to the team’s play as the game turns…

“Certainly, when it’s not going your way, you’re probably trying to force it too much.  You want to go out there and make a difference every shift.  But you have to understand that for our group to be successful, you have to do it together in a unit of five there, move the puck and play in our system so we can play fast and know where each other are on the ice.  We get a little disjointed at times and that’s when we kind of lose our focus and lose our structure and we get hurt there.”

On the level of concern…

“I’ve never had a start like this in my career so it’s tough mentally for sure.  By no means is this group going to quit, I know that for a fact.  And I know that we will keep working here and trust our system and we start playing the way we need to with a little more edge, a little bit more desperation.  Hopefully, this is rock bottom here early on and a real gut check time, and understanding what’s expected of us individually and as a group.  You really need to lay it out there every shift; one shift can be the difference.  It’s tight here right now for us in these games.  The more focus and more determination every shift is going to produce results.”

• Rick Nash, New York Rangers forward

On tonight’s game…

“It seems like we had way too many turnovers in the neutral zone in the second period. We couldn’t establish a fore-check. I remember a stretch on the bench where we turned it over four or five times. That was the difference in the second period.”

On what they can do to get a different result…

“I think we just simplify, keep it simple. I think that’s when we have our success.  I think we do it at times. I think we are having gaps in our game right now, like the second period, where simple may not work one time and we start swinging and trying other things. We have to put together a full 60 minutes.”

On how to move forward…

“I think we stick together. It’s easy to point fingers right now and get on top of each other. But good teams get through things like this and come out even better.”

On the chances in the third period…

“Sooner or later, it’s not good enough to only get chances. You need to actually score. We couldn’t seem to beat the goaltender [Keith Kinkaid] enough times tonight.”

• Ondrej Pavelec, New York Rangers goaltender

On tonight’s game…

“I think we did a lot of good things in this game, but it’s like a snowball right now.  We make one mistake and it (the game) goes against us.  We had some scoring chances. I think their goalie made some really good saves and kept them in the game.  Too bad – we just need to find a way to win games.  That’s all that matters right now.”

On what the team needs to do moving forward…

“Still battle, be in the fight.   We are in it together.  We need to find a way to win the games.  I think it’s not going to be pretty – it’s about going in front of the net and battle there and hope it’s going to be enough to win the game.  I think we did a lot of good things tonight but it wasn’t enough to win the game.  I am pretty sure we are going to battle hard the next game and try to win.”

On his play tonight…

“I think we played good defensively.  We didn’t give them much especially in the first period.  I had a hard time getting into the game and getting some shots there.  It’s too bad right now that we didn’t get the two points because we really need it.”

• Keith Kinkaid, New Jersey Devils goaltender

On his view of what changed for the team the last 40 minutes…

“I think we just had to reevaluate what kind of team we were and what we were doing out there. We need to work hard, get on the forecheck and use stick to detail. We just got away from that a little bit. We came back and worked hard throughout the rest of the game.”

On starting so early in the season and whether it’s better to get the first one out of the way quickly…

“Absolutely. You always want to see a puck early and often and I think they had four in the first minute. It’s good that they didn’t go in. It could have been a whole different game there, but it felt good the whole time throughout preseason throughout practice and the boys played a hell of a game today.”

• Drew Stafford, New Jersey Devils forward

On Kinkaid’s game…

“He gave us a chance to win from the beginning there. Like I said they were a desperate team and they came out and out shot us. The shots were 14-3 in the first period. That is Keith giving us a shot to win and we rewarded him by coming out and playing the way we did.”

On what changed between the first and the second period for the team…

“We addressed it a little in the first but it wasn’t really that big of an issue.  We didn’t want to make it an issue because we know we have to be better in here. You know starting with myself and everybody we all kind of lifted each other up and we were able to get back to competing and working, it was as simple as that. We got out-worked in the first and Keith (Kinkaid) bailed us out, so that was pretty much the difference.”

–       Tomorrow (Sunday, Oct. 15): Team is OFF

–       Monday, Oct. 16: Practice, 12:00 p.m. at MSG Training Center

–       Next Game: Tue., Oct. 17 vs. Pittsburgh (7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network)

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