Preseason finally got underway earlier tonight as the Rangers fell to the Senators by a goal, 3-2 at Scotiabank Place. I caught most of the final two periods.

Ottawa got the first three scoring twice in a strong opening stanza with Dany Heatley one-timing home a Jason Smith cross pass 2:57 in at even strength- a rarity in itself due to all the tacky phantom holding/hooking calls throughout which made for choppy play.

Less than 11:00 later, Jason Spezza cashed in on a Michal Rozsival miscue at the left point taking the puck away and walking in for a shorthanded breakaway goal patiently outwaiting Stephen Valiquette before going to the backhand for a 2-0 lead.

As I walked in to catch the final minute of the first, the Rangers had a strong shift thanks to newcomer Aaron Voros, who battled hard down low drawing a penalty late. The ex-Wild grinding forward originally a Devil draft pick was one of the best players for the Blueshirts playing his spunky, physical aggressive style throughout. I really see him becoming a fan favorite and helping replace Sean Avery. Though without as much production or chaos.

The Rangers didn’t convert on a predictably abbreviated man-advantage as Petr Prucha was guilty of a giveaway leading to a Chris Drury hook. During a four-on-four early in the second, Mike Fisher made it three straight goals by beating Drury to the spot in front getting just enough of a Chris Phillips rebound putting it past Valiquette, who should’ve had it.

But the Ottawa three-goal lead was shortlived as only 69 seconds later, sophomore pivot Brandon Dubinsky took a Rozsival pass in stride at center ice and then beat two Sens before ripping a perfect wrister past Martin Gerber shortside for a power play goal.

The rest of the stanza saw the Rangers look much sharper carrying a majority of the play outshooting the Sens 13-7 drawing some power plays due to a diligent forecheck and the continued tacky officiating which sucked equally for both sides. They apparently were following Gary Bettman’s orders and in mid-season form. What a stunning revelation.

The teams combined for 19 power plays with the Rangers going 1-for-9 while Ottawa took the collar in 10 attempts. The Blueshirt penalty killing was solid with excellent efforts from Ryan Callahan which included a great defensive play forcing a turnover at the point before getting the puck ahead to a streaking Dubinsky who did the rest beating backup Brian Elliott on a breakaway to slice it to 3-2 with 4:44 left.

Though they didn’t come up with the equalizer late despite another soft call which led to a splendid kill, the Rangers showed me enough to at least not be too disturbed. They fought hard after getting down three by reestablishing their forecheck while outshooting Ottawa 36-19. Of course, a skilled team like theirs doesn’t need many chances and in the first portion, the Rangers were sloppy and paid dearly.

I liked the work ethic though as they never quit and made it a game. Both sides competed pretty hard for the first exhibition game with several hits including an eye opener from second-year Sen Nick Foligno on Dane Byers. Callahan certainly was hitting most shifts and new Sen Smith made his presence felt on Prucha, who always seems to have a target on his back.

If there weren’t so many penalties, it would’ve been more enjoyable. But eh. What would ya expect early on?

Valiquette played the first half allowing three goals on 11 shorts and 23 year-old Swedish prospect Miikka Wiikkman was razor sharp even though he only faced eight shots repelling them all. He didn’t look bad in standing tall on one quality Ottawa rush padding it away. We’ll see how much more action he sees.

Figure Henrik Lundqvist to get in on Monday’s home preseason opener versus Ottawa. I’d also expect Scott Gomez, Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche, Wade Redden and Dan Girardi to all play.

Lines from what I gauged were:

Dawes-Drury-Prucha

Voros-Dubinsky-Callahan

Sjostrom-Rismiller-Moore

Byers-Betts-Orr

Staal-Rozsival

Mara-Potter

Delzotto-B. Fahey

Top Performers

1.Voros- like I said, he did everything possible taking the body, winning puck battles, drawing penalties and getting 3 SOG.

2.Dubinsky- was by far the best player on the team dominating shifts and showing continued strong skating with two outstanding finishes. If he’s our third center, that’s a huge advantage most nights cause he doesn’t play like it.

3.Callahan- was his solid active self getting involved physically and making that nice read leading to Dubi’s shorty.

4.Corey Potter- I’ve liked this kid ever since I saw him play D teaming with Callahan and Fritsche to help Team USA win the WJC a few years back. He was solid in college and had a good first pro season at Hartford. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he won the backup spot. He was very very steady making smart decisions while working efficiently with Paul Mara logging over 20 mins.

Who Didn’t

1.Dawes, Drury, Prucha- they were a combined minus-six on for two goals against each. While they did show some decent chemistry moving the puck down low to generate opportunities, 3 combined SOG isn’t enough. Plus their D coverage wasn’t that good and they combined for four minors with Prucha’s giveaway also leading to one. I’d still keep them together cause there’s potential.

2.Dawes- I listed him already as part of the line but he just wasn’t as active as he needed to be and didn’t create the sorta chances he should. This is a huge season for him.

3.Sjostrom- he had a couple of decent shifts but was mostly quiet. He’s capable of more particularly offensively.

Other Surprises

1.Patrick Rissmiller- the ex-Shark was pretty active on most shifts showing good speed getting a good SOG. He might push Betts for the fourth line.

2.Blair Betts- his hard work ethic was there hustling across the ice to block a shot and do diligent PK.

Quick Hits

-First round pick Michael Delzotto debuted logging over 17 mins finishing minus-one with one minor. He looked a little awkward which was no surprise for an 18 year-old.

-Brian Fahey (younger brother of Jim) was decent in 17:34 showing good speed while playing with Delzotto. Figure the ex-Av fourth rounder to be out of the mix.

-Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Kelly, Anton Volchenkov and Dean McAmmond sat out for Ottawa.

-In the other exhibition contest, the Lightning beat the Penguins in a shootout 5-4 with Jussi Jokinen and No.1 overall pick Steven Stamkos tallying. Brandon Bochenski had two goals and an assist while Petr Sykora tallied twice for the Pens.

-Devils and Flyers play Monday in Philly and the Sabres visit Toronto with eight games on tap.