Newcomers Shine in Devils Win Over Isles | GAME STORY

The newcomers to the New Jersey Devils lineup made their presence known on Tuesday night at Prudential Center.
Whether it was a first-rate zone entry leading to a goal, a cerebral presence on the first line or scoring a goal, the newest members of the Devils were on top of their games against the Islanders on Tuesday night.
Erik Haula scored the Devils fourth goal, Ondrej Palat assisted on Jack Hughes' and John Marino's zone-entry led to Yegor Sharangovich's opening goal, as the Devils defeated the Islanders 4-1.
Vitek Vanecek played the opening 40 minutes and despite letting in the first shot he faced, shut the door from there on out, to make 15 saves on 16 shots in his first appearance as a Devil.
New Jersey moves to 2-0 in preseason play with victories on back-to-back nights.

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COMING SOON - REWIND: Interviews and Key Plays from Tonight's Game
PLAYER INTERVIEWS -
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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils continue their preseason on Thursday with a game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The game can be seen on MSGSN and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Here are several observations from the Devils first preseason home game:
- Ondrej Palat has been brought in to make an immediate impact. While there has been plenty of talk about his impact off the ice as a leader and a Stanley Cup champion, tonight was the first opportunity to see Palat in a New Jersey Devils jersey against an NHL opponent.

It didn't take long to see how his addition will help this team on the ice as well. On several occasions in the first period alone, whether it was Palat finding his linemates, or them finding him, his smarts were immediately on display. His best chance of the first period came off a centering pass from Holtz, who was chasing down a puck at the left circle. Holtz turned his head every so briefly to see Palat in the slot. Palat was able to get his shot off but didn't quite get the full velocity off. Sorokin made the save with his quick reflexes.

"No, he didn't get the full shot," Holtz said, "If it was the full shot, it would have been a goal."

- It is no surprise that the Devils staff had asked Alexander Holtz to work on his strength during the off-season and that it was an area of his game he took very seriously. His newly developed strength can be summed by a single play against the Islanders when he found himself in a board battle for the puck with Sebastian Aho.

Holtz was able to stay on his feet to continue protecting the puck,and withstand the body pressure from Aho, before Palat was able to arrive and help support the puck. The end-result was Holtz keeping the play alive, from behind the goal-line passing the puck to Jack Hughes who whipped the puck past Sorokin for the Devils third goal of the night.

"I worked a lot of wall battles with my coaches and everything back in Utica," Holtz said post-game. "And one I got up here, too. It was nice to show that. Especially when I have Palat on my line as well, he is really strong, I can learn a lot from him around the wall battles. So he helped me a lot with that, so it was nice."

- Dougie Hamilton looks comfortable. Playing in Prudential Center for the first time in a long time without his jaw protector, Hamilton looked more at ease and like the player that began the 2021-22 season. Hamilton finished the night a plus-3 with 21:44 time on ice.

"I thought his skating, his puck movement, he did look a lot like the way he started last year," head coach Lindy Ruff said.

- Yegor Sharangovich had the honor of the first preseason goal at home for the Devils. It was a play that developed after a first-rate zone entry by newcomer John Marino through several Islanders to find Sharangovich, who whipped the puck past Ilya Sorokin.

"There's another guy that comes from good pedigree," Ruff said of Marino, who was traded to the Devils from Pittsbugh in the off-season, "He comes from a very successful Pittsburgh team. I thought he skated well, got up in the play well. He made that first play that allowed us to tie the game up. I'm just really getting to know him, but I thought that he defended really well, I thought he moved his feet really well in the game."

- Not sure if it was caught on television, but after Erik Haula scored the Devils' fourth goal Miles Wood said 'great shot', as they met to celebrate the goal. What it also was, was a great play. Wood used his signature speed, which he promised wasn't lost after his extensive hip rehab, to enter the zone with Haula trailing behind him. Wood went from the drop-pass to Haula, before heading right to the net front. Haula cut right in front of the net and whipped the puck home for his first preseason goal as a Devil. - Vitek Vanecek stopped 15 of 16 shots, letting in only the first shot he faced. Joining a new team and learning to understand systems and communication with his new defensemen. Vanecek said post-game that he's a big talker to his defensemen and a big talker even when there is no one around him.

"I'm talking a lot to the defensemen," Vacecek said post-game, "And when the puck is on the other side, I'm talking to myself. That's helping me a lot to not think about the game and just play."

- Hamilton, Hughes and Wood each wore an 'A' on their jerseys tonight.