Sweep of NHL preseason for 22 September 2015 Knocking the rust off as NHL gets serious in preseason; 3-on-3 OT makes it debut

The new era of the Toronto Maple Leafs got underway Monday night in preseason action in Ottawa.

The Senators went up 2-0 in the first period before the Leafs mounted the fist comeback of the night.  Shane Prince and Bobby Ryan scored for the Sens early.

Dion Phaneuf got the Leafs on the board ahead of the first period horn.

James Reimer got the start in net for Toronto and made 21 saves on 24 shots; he was relieved by Garret Sparks who stopped.

Joffrey Lupul‘s second goal of the game came just 55 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime session.  Lupul had scored early in the third to get the teams to 3-all.

Erik Karlsson had a goal and two assists for the Sens in the loss.

In New York, Jayson Megna (two goals) and Kevin Klein (three assists) got the Rangers’ offense going in a 6-3 win over-river rivals the New Jersey Devils.

Brian Gibbons had a goal and two assists for the night for the Blueshirts.

Antti Raanta got th4 start in the Rangers net and made 11 saves.  Magnus Hellberg relieved him and stopped 12 of 14.

Cory Schneider was in net for the Devils to start the game and made 10 saves on 12 shots; his relief, Yann Danis, yielded four goals on 11 shots.

In Victoria, BC, Adam Cracknell scored 1:39 into the 3-on-3 overtime session with the San Jose Sharks to give the Vancouver Canucks a 1-0 win.

“I had a lot of time and picked a corner,” Cracknell said. “I wasn’t passing it up. Not here. Not now.”

Cracknell grew up in Victoria and played his first game with the Canucks in front of family and friends.

“Just to be here and part of the moment and have all my friends and family, guys I grew up playing hockey with, able to come to the game and they are huge Canucks fans, so to do that in front of them is huge because they have supported me my whole career,” Cracknell said.

New Sharks bench boss, Peter DeBoer, was disappointed with the outcome but saw positives in his team’s efforts and appreciated the experience of the Kraft Hockeyville atmosphere.

“It was sloppy, but overall I was happy and real happy with the experience and glad we were a part of it,” DeBoer said. “I’m really glad we were invited to be a part of it. Nothing but a positive experience across the board, other than I would have liked to win that game in overtime.”