Pre-Season Game Preview: Devils @ Rangers… in Albany

Five long months have passed since the New Jersey Devils have stepped onto the ice for a game. A lot has happened since then including shedding important salary cap space, hiring Pete DeBoer as the new head coach, and drafting Adam Larsson with the fourth overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft.

The Devils open their pre-season against Atlantic Division (and Hudson River) rivals, the New York Rangers. The game will be played at the Times Union Center in Albany, home arena of the Albany Devils, and will be a home game for the New York Rangers as renovations continue on the world-famous Madison Square Garden.

There is a lot to look forward to tonight. Not only is hockey back, but we get a look at the future of the Devils. Adam Larsson will get his first look at how hockey is played at a NHL skill level. Larsson was slated as the most-NHL-ready prospect in this year’s draft and was called the “steal of the draft” as he was slated to go as high as number one. Devils fans all around are ready to see Larsson’s game.

Also, Petr Sykora will be dressed in a Devils sweater once again as he tries to showcase his talents. Sykora was invited to participate in training camp on a tryout offer. During a scrimmage the team held this past weekend, Sykora shows he still has it as he scored a hat trick, leading his team to victory.

A big question on the mind of Devils fans is how will Zach Parise play? Parise missed a lot of last season with a knee injury and was a restricted free agent in the off-season. The Devils were able to resign him to a one-year contract, but there are still mysteries surrounding how his knee will hold up. Parise says he is 100% and is ready to play.

Getting the start in net for the Devils tonight will be rookie Keith Kinkaid. Coach DeBoer says he expects goalies to play full games during pre-season, so backup Jeff Frazee will only be used during emergency circumstances.

Here is a look at the projected lineup for tonight:

Zach Parise – Patrik Elias – Steve Bernier
Ilya Kovalchuk – Jacob Josefson – David Clarkson
Nick Palmieri – Stephane Veilleux – Petr Sykora
Eric Boulton – Brad Mills – Cam Janssen

Adam Larsson – Henrik Tallinder
Anton Volchenkov – Anton Stralman
Mark Frasser – Peter Harrold

Keith Kinkaid
Jeff Frazee