Friday was not a night to remember for the 17,625 fans in attendance.  The Devils and their loyal supporters must stay positive after last night’s 3-1 loss to the Rangers, as they host the Kings tonight with little room for error.  The Devils have officially lost the season series (0-3-2) to the Rangers.  That was the fifth straight loss to the Rangers and 5th in the 6-game home stretch.  But, everyone must stay positive.

The Rangers held New Jersey to five third-period shots on goal and G Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves in the win.  Chris Drury notched two goals, including the power-play empty netter with 4 seconds left, sealing the Devils fate yet again.  Drury and Gomez both produced career points No. 500.

The Devils have now lost 10 straight to both New York teams, by far their worst stretch against the metro rivals.  New Jersey is 0-4-1 against the Islanders with three more regular season meetings.

Despite outshooting the Rangers 15-9, the Devils were down 1-0 after the opening period.

Brandon Dubinsky beat Martin Brodeur gloveside four minutes into the game.

Drury extended the Blueshirts advantage in the second, banking one off Brodeur’s leg on the power play.  Scott Gomez and Daniel Girardi assisted on Drury’s 14th after Colin White was called for slashing.

But, the Devils were not finished.  Zach Parise pulled the Devils within one.  Langenbrunner and Oduya were credited with assists on Parise’s 19th of the season at 5:48 of the second.

The Devils pounded 14 more shots on Lundqvist, who clearly outplayed his veteran counterpart Martin Brodeur.

Yet, Lundqvist was a brick wall, continually stuffing Parise and Patrik Elias, who combined for 13 shots.

The Rangers clamped down defensively in the final 20 minutes, allowing five shots on a well-rested Lundqvist.

The Rangers had a tough back-to-back stretch against the Atlantic Division-rival Flyers and Devils, deciding to spell Lundqvist with reserve netminder Steve Valiquette.  Valiquette earned his first career NHL shutout, making 20 saves in the Rangers 4-0 win at Philadelphia.

Despite the loss, the Devils remain one point ahead of the Rangers in the standings with three games in hand.  New Jersey hosts Los Angeles tonight while New York has Saturday off, completing its four-game road trip tomorrow in Montreal.

Notes:

Jay Pandolfo did not return last night and will miss tonight’s contest versus Los Angeles.

Despite committing four penalties to the Rangers’ lone infraction, the Devils led 34-26 in shots.

The Devils also dominated the faceoff battle 25-17.

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