Jeremy Brodeur Leads Devils Past Rangers for First Preseason Victory

Photo Credit: New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, N.J — With their main roster in Prague, Czech Republic getting ready for the first two games of the season, the Devils defeated the Rangers 3-1 in a game that was comprised of mostly minor league players and PTO’s.

The Utica Comet players wearing Devils jerseys all impressed Monday night at the Rock. Thanks to two first breakaway goals, the Devils would take over the game and not look back.

Brian Halonen opened the scoring when he was sent in all alone with Ranger goaltender Jonathan Quick on a beautiful blue line to blue line pass from Max Willman, with Halonen beating the three-time Stanley Cup champion five-hole to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Michigan Tech, Halonen is on the cusp of being an everyday NHL’er. Performances like tonight will go a long way for Halonen, who had a goal and a fight against the rival Rangers.

“Physicality is something that I feel I can bring,” Halonen shared postgame. “I think that’s something that the Devils are looking for in me.” Last season in Utica, Halonen scored 20 goals in just 35 games after missing a big chunk of the beginning of the year with injuries.

The Devils would double their lead just over five minutes later. This time it was Samuel Laberge with a stretch pass from his own zone to send Nathan Legare in on another breakaway. Legare, who the Comets acquired at the AHL trade deadline last season, showed his inner Jesper Bratt, sending Quick the wrong way with a silky backhand forehand move before sliding the puck into the open net.

“It was a good goalie on the other side,” Légaré shared about beating Jonathan Quick on a breakaway. “I just saw the goalie, I just got to keep doing my work and good things are going to happen.”

After being given a multi-goal lead in the first period, Devils goaltender Jeremy Brodeur was a brick wall in between the pipes, recording a shutout for a vast majority of this game. “I feel like a lot of my hockey is based around having fun,” Brodeur explained postgame. “I had fun since the moment I stepped on the ice for warmups. I feel like it just made it seamless throughout.”

Jeremy, the son of Devils legend Martin, earned this opportunity thanks to a superb season with the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL in 2023/24. Brodeur finished the season with a .918 SV%, 2.56 GAA and a record of 18-9-3. This performance tonight from Jeremy will be something he remembers for a very long time, especially when he looked like a vintage version of his father making saves like this one below.

Asked about the “Brodeur” chants that rained down from the crowd, Jermey couldn’t hold back his smile when talking to the media. “It was pretty cool. I grew up playing my minor hockey here and watching (my dad) play and it was special to get this opportunity. I’m excited that it went well.”

The Devils would reward Brodeur for his performance by adding an insurance goal on the power play two minutes into the third period. Kevin Labanc, a Staten Island native who is on a professional tryout with New Jersey, one-timed his shot from just above the left circle past Quick to give the Devils a 3-0 lead.

Labanc, who spent the first eight seasons of his NHL career in San Jose, is doing everything in his power to get an NHL contract from either the Devils or any of the other 31 teams around the league. He’ll have two more games to show Tom Fitzgerald and the rest of the front office that he could be a dependable depth piece for the organization in 2024.

It was almost a perfect night for the Devils, but the Rangers would play spoiler and breakup Brodeur’s shutout with just 1:42 left in the third period. Ranger forward Brett Berard fired a harmless shot on Brodeur, unfortunately for the Devils, the puck bounced off his pad and straight to Anton Blidh who tapped in the only Ranger goal of the night.

Either way, Jeremy would be named first star of the night after making 29 saves on 30 shots to earn his first victory in a Devils uniform. Not too shabby for the 27-year-old journeymen goaltender who grew up watching his dad play in the same net he was tending tonight.

The Devils are back in action right away, finishing the back-to-back against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, with puck drop scheduled for 7 P.M.

Box Score: New Jersey Devils – New York Rangers – Sep 30, 2024 | NHL.com