Connor Brown turned a neutral-zone mistake into the deciding breakaway Sunday, lifting the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 preseason-opening win over the New York Islanders at Prudential Center.
Brown broke the tie at 7:53 of the third period after Islanders defenseman Marshall Warren lost the puck near the New Jersey blue line. Brown collected it, got in alone on Vitek Vanecek and snapped a wrist shot home for the winner.
David Rittich stopped 23 shots for the Devils against the club he represented last season. The veteran goaltender was especially busy early, making 12 saves in the opening period to keep New Jersey within reach before its offense found the board.
Rittich joined the Devils on a one-year deal July 3 after going 14-10-3 in 30 games, including 28 starts, for the Islanders last season. He finished that campaign with a 2.76 goals-against average, an .894 save percentage and two shutouts.
Islanders rookie opens the scoring
New York took the first lead 55 seconds into the second period when Cole Eiserman converted on the power play. Working with a 4-on-3 advantage, the 2024 first-round pick stepped into a pass from Vladimir Dravecky and hammered a one-timer from beyond the right face-off circle past Rittich.
Eiserman, selected No. 20 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, supplied the Islanders’ lone goal in his first preseason appearance.
The Devils answered quickly. Ryan Schmelzer tied the game at 3:59 of the middle frame, joining the rush, taking Ben Steeves’ feed and lifting a shot over Vanecek’s glove.
New faces in both creases
Vanecek made 20 saves in his Islanders debut after signing a one-year contract on July 1. He held New Jersey to one goal through two periods, but Brown’s third-period breakaway gave the Devils the edge in the opener for both teams.
