With the Rangers’ glut of forwards and lack of salary cap space, it appears Brendan Shanahan is in free-agent purgatory.

His agent, Rick Curran, said “absolutely nothing” had happened with his client today.

“Until you see the Rangers have made a move, nothing can happen,” Curran said.

Anyway, talk today focused on the new guys’ expectations for their Garden debut in blue, but I have a few tidbits from the skate. Here goes:

— Petr Prucha may be the odd man out again. No. 25 may find himself on the scratched squad tomorrow night after we saw Fredrik Sjostrom skate with Blair Betts and Colton Orr on the fourth line. Nigel Dawes was bumped down and will likely skate alongside Ryan Callahan and Lauri Korpikoski, leaving Prucha as the odd-man out. When asked about Prucha, Renney said: “We’ll make a decision tomorrow morning.” ... I know, I know: Here we go again…

— The Rangers will stick with six men on D. There were no roster moves today to balance the roster. Renney said the club will field just six defensemen “at this point.” He didn’t elaborate but a move didn’t seem imminent.

— Hank to grab some rest? With the Rangers playing seven games in 11 days, Renney said he and Benoit Allaire talked about a plan to start Steven Valiquette in a game. We’re not sure which one yet.

— This one kind of feels like an opener. No disrespect to the good people of Prague (and, yes, the Rangers’ wins count), but tomorrow night is the unofficial/official NHL opener for this club. “It was a great experience to play in Europe, but you could tell it’s a lot different,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s not like playing here with the atmosphere. That adds another level to the game when you have that environment.”

— Chicago is on the rise. Can you believe the Rangers and Blackhawks have not met since Feb. 18, 2007? Can you believe the Blackhawks haven’t won on Garden ice since Dec. 2002? Well, that happens to be the state of the league right now, what with it having the most unbalanced of schedules. The Rangers believes this Chicago team will be a different animal. With guys like Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell, the Original Six member may be set to regain some respectability.

— Dubinsky on Palin. He would’ve preferred to talk about a different topic, but Brandon Dubinsky said it was “certainly good for Alaska” that Gov. Sarah Palin would drop the puck Saturday night in Philly. Dubinsky, one of two native Alaskans (Scott Gomez is the other) had this to say: “She’s obviously a representative of where I come from, so that’s good. There’s a lot of different opinions out there on a lot of different subjects, but I’m just here to play hockey. I’m going to focus on that.”

I still don’t know if this things turned, but it’s certainly a lot closer thanks to a few lucky bounces going the Devils’ way. I made a quick detour into their locker after the game and found a very thankful Marty Brodeur.

“It’s a fun situation right now,” he said. “We’re happy we’ve got two days right now to relax. It took a lot of energy. It’s not easy when you lose games and you have your backs against the wall like we did tonight, but we pulled it off.”

The Devils definitely got the bounces. The first goal went in off Blair Betts’ stick. The third was redirected past Henrik Lundqvist after it hit Brendan Shanahan in the leg. (Lundqvist told me just before that his glove was there to catch it and the puck just moved out of the way.) And the last was, oh, well, you know…

Marc Staal seemed crushed afterward, but is looking to move on. “It’s something you don’t want to happen, but it happened and you try to forget about it,” said the rookie, who led the club in ice time tonight.

Both Staal and Lundqvist said the goal happened so fast they couldn’t move. I can feel their pain. We were right there in the press box and we had no idea what happened. Only after several replays could I figure out the fateful deflection.If you’re a fan looking for encouragement after a tough loss, here’s Brendan Shanahan summarizing the team’s mood:”

Put your chins up, get ready to work. I don’t think anyone, either way, predicted sweep for the Devils or sweep for the Rangers. I don’t think anybody in here feels like the series got away or anything like that. It was a tight game. It was a strange bounce. It’s not a devastating thing. You come back to work and get ready for the next game.”

OK, one more day for me tomorrow and then Sam is back. The team is off, but I’ll look through the stats and quotes and try to unearth a few items of interest.

I asked Jaromir Jagr about his mysterious absence in the second period. He laughed and said he’ll be fine…meaning he probably tweaked something but expects it won’t affect him. Obviously, he played really well in the third period so I don’t think it’s much of a concern either.

OK, I have to rewrite. I’ll check back later.

9:41 p.m. — We were eating dinner downstairs before the game — over by where they let the elephants into the Garden for the circus — and we all agreed this game had OT written all over it. ... Well, the Rangers were dangerously close a couple times, but we’re going to OT…just like expected.

I don’t know if Dan Girardi’s slapper was headed in the net, but it was an awfully good opportunity. The Rangers were flying

8:49 p.m. — End of two periods, Devils up 3-2.

The Rangers will start the final period on the PP, but that’s probably a small consolation to Ranger fans. All told, the Rangers were called for 10 minutes of penalties in the period, including eight over the final 7:54.

As I wrote before about Jagr being on the ice, he immediately missed his next shift. We’ll see if he’s back on the ensuing PP.

8:44 p.m. — The Garden is stunned. Not only did the Devils score twice to take a 3-2 lead, the Rangers have been whistled for three penalties in a row that were questionable.

All and all, this game has been called awfully tight for a playoff game.

Jagr was on the ice for the last shift. I’m not sure if there’s something wrong with him or if the Rangers just haven’t been at even-strength for a while.

8:12 p.m. — So Glen, where’s that new contract?

7:52 p.m. — What a period! Exciting, feisty, controversial. All you want in a good period of hockey, unless you’re a Ranger fan who doesn’t appreciate when your club has a no-goal call changed by a video review.

One opinion: The officials definitely evened-out the calls on the penalties to Shanahan and Parise. Shanahan’s “hook” was incidental contact, and quickly negated the Rangers’ power play. Avery appeared to have been tripped by Brodeur, but maybe the officials just missed the play and tried to react when Avery fell. But they also blew it on Parise’s “cross-check,” which negated the Devil PP. Parise was actually hit by Chris Drury, and his stick rode up. Ironic, isn’t it?

It’s tough to say which way this one will go. The play’s been even so far, but each team has dominated for long stretches. My guess is you Ranger fans will take that.

I imagine the Blueshirts wouldn’t mind a tie game headed into the third with their third-period dominance over the Devs this season.

7:40 p.m. — Have the Rangers spooked Marty Brodeur? Sure looks like it. He was simply not ready for that shot by Brandon Dubinsky, and he doesn’t have Colin White to blame this time.

If anything, White saved Brodeur.

Anyway, it appears the Rangers are back. They are flying.

7:29 p.m. — Rangers need a big power play here. They haven’t been great so far, after a terrific opening minute or two.

That could’ve been about two or three penalties on the Devils. The play happened right in front of us. Sjostrom got punched right in the back of the head by Oduya.

7:24 p.m. — Now that’s a cross-check.

7:19 p.m. — I think that’s a goal. It looks like Betts hit the Brylin shot in with the shaft of his stick…

Oh wait…Ater video review, he did. 1-0 Devils at 3:01. What do you think out there? Goal or no goal?

7:15 p.m. — Lines back to normal. Must’ve been looking for early matchup.

7:11 p.m. — Jagr starting with Avery and Gomez, who could not stand still during the national anthem.

It’s weird. We’ll see if it lasts.

7:08 p.m. — Ranger lineup is the same. Devils is same, minus D-man Andy Greene.

Big game tonight, and since I don’t have much to report I’ll tell you this: I expect a wild night. I eavesdropped on Brent Sutter’s pregame chat and left with the impression he wants to Devils to really mix it up tonight. He said they haven’t embraced the rivalry with the Rangers all season.

“There’s a reason why we only won one game,” Sutter said. “Not because they’re so much better then we are. ... They’ve found ways to win.”

Sutter said every game was the same, with the result marred by a 3-4 minute stretch of bad hockey.

Now? He believes the Devs are  “in desperate mode.”

My immediate thought was that Sutter wants his team to play with the same edge it did on Friday. How that edge manifests itself will be crucial to the outcome. Will the Devils disrupt what has been a successful game plan for the Rangers? Or will they spend the night playing musical chairs in the visiting penalty box? We shall see.

Tom Renney repeated the same sentiments from the morning skate, so I won’t recycle his thoughts from the previous post. Still, here were two items of interest:

1. Colton Orr could technically play late in this series, but he’s not close. “We’re starting the beginning of the process of getting him fit,” Renney said. It’s not a matter of Orr’s toe, which has healed.

2. Renney on Christian Backman’s cross-check:

“It’s a hockey play,” Renney said. “You try to finish a check. You can’t blame him for that. Our guy didn’t cross-check him. He hit his stick. (Backman) could’ve maybe protected Zach by havnig his stick down but he didn’t. Those things happen.”

Also of note: Jagr strolled in wearing a suit AND a Stanley Cup ring. Someone asked him if the ring was from ‘91. “No,” he said. “Two-thousand eight.”

Tom Renney inferred we’ll see the same lineup tonight when the Rangers host the Devils for a Game 3, including Christian Backman. The D-man was at the rink this morning but did not skate. Renney said there’s nothing up with him or any no-shows at today’s optional skate. The club appears ready to resume.

As far as the lineup goes, Renney said: “I think most coaches are creatures of habit,  so if it’s working — even if it doesn’t look like it — you go with what’s there. We do have some very good hockey players in the wings, waiting to help us out. We know that and I sure don’t like those guys having to wait too long.  This is the season now. What we’re doing on a game-to-game basis is crucial in terms of wins. We’ll see how the series evolves. If feel like we have to put somebody in, we’ll do that, but it’s a game-time thing.”

That’s a long quote, but the message was: You’ll see the same players tonight.

The other theme was appropriately handling their playoff debut at the Garden. Obviously, Game 2 was borderline nasty at times. The Rangers will be cautious contributers to the mayhem tonight, hoping to play with the required edge all while avoiding the penalty box. A couple dumb penalties could stir up a Devils comeback, and no one in blue wants that.

“It’s about emotional control and recognizing that the consequence for retaliation or playing outside of our team needs could be crucial to the series, never mind the game that you’re in,” Renney said. “It’s about emotional control. It’s about making sure you are passionate to play, that you’re not allowing yourself to be pushed around, that you are proactive, but you have to be intelligent about it to and recognize that any extracirricular activity could cost you a game if you’re the team in the penalty box or you’ve got off the ice. It’s just about emotional control and recognizing that the team comes before any individual.”

I asked how he felt they handled their emotions on Friday.

“We were happy about it, for the most part,” Renney said. “You’ve gotta be there for each other. I think we made that statement and we’ll continue to when we have to. But the bottom line is, we don’t want a penalty parade. When we can do that, we can allow our great players to do on the ice what they need to do and it doesn’t tax our penalty killers as much.”

And — one for the road — the coach was asked what makes the Garden so special. “It’s like a temple,” he said, a sentiment I’m sure many of you share.

If a return to New York’s hockey shrine doesn’t get you pumped for Game 3, you’re on the wrong blog.

Talk to you later…

Tom Renney conveyed that message to us in last night’s postgame, and continued doing so during the team’s video session this morning.

Blair Betts told me the Devils thrive off the opponent’s mistakes, he and his teammates made far too many of them, and Renney pointed out as much to his club.

“There are some minor little details we have to tidy up,” Renney said. “How we manage the puck, in particular. This is a team that preys on the counter-attack, the turnover and the counter-attack. We just have to make that a little more difficult for them.”

To a man, most of the Rangers felt they were outplayed, or at least matched play for play. Renney went so far as to say his team needed to adjust, but he’s not so sure about the Devils. Jaromir Jagr agreed, saying the 4-1 final in Game 1 was “unfair” to the Devils.

Mind you, the tenor of the Rangers’ comments wasn’t all negative. Many showered praise on Henrik Lundqvist, who clearly outplayed the great Brodeur. Hank continued to speak about how physically and mentally strong he feels. Obviously, the implication being, he didn’t feel so hot two years ago.

As for the lineup: the lines were the same today, both up front and on defense.

“There’s a couple of question marks there,” Renney said, but didn’t elaborate further. Paul Mara did take an ill-advised hooking penalty early and Ryan Hollweg had just one hit and one blocked shot in 6:08, so you never know.

Colton Orr removed the boot on his foot and went for a skate today. Renney said he’ll need several more looks before thinking about inserting Orr into the lineup. I wouldn’t expect to see him this series.

Anyone have questions, I’ll be around for a while.

— Marty Brodeur said he wanted to keep the play going (remember: the Devils were on the PP and he didn’t want the faceoff to end up in his own zone) and that he simply forgot about Ryan Callahan. I, for one, found that stunning.

— The Rangers, in unison, said they were lucky to see Brodeur make such a mistake. “Good thing we took advantage of it because he’s not going to do it very often,” Callahan said.

“We got a lucky break, but that’s what’s always made Marty the best,” Scott Gomez said. “He won’t think about that. He’ll let that go and he’ll come back.”

— Gomez was the man tonight, creating the opportunities on all three goals. He dished to Brendan Shanahan before charging to the net, which must’ve bothered Brodeur because that was a softie otherwise. He then tipped Callahan’s rebound to Brodeur, leading to the fateful play. The third goal had his name written all over it…he tucked it underneath Brodeur from beyond the goalie line to a cutting Sean Avery. ... All in all, what a game for Gomez.

— Avery’s just Avery. He had two points tonight, drew two key penalties and probably has a few more stitches to show for it.

— I wrote through my story quick and didn’t really mention too much about Henrik Lundqvist, but let’s be honest: He was reason No. 1 why the Rangers have a 1-0 lead.

Lundqvist actually said he “took his time” sliding across the crease when he made the great stop on Patrick Elias with 2:30 left in the second period. He said he saw Elias didn’t receive the puck cleanly, signaling to him he had time. Let me tell you: If he can think that quickly, he’s a better man than you and I.

“I had pretty good timing there,” Lundqvist said.

— So you know, I’ll be back tomorrow. The Rangers practice at noon, so I’ll check in at some point after 1 p.m.

Still, Scott Gomez is easily the player of the game. He made all three plays happen, at least to some extent.

Rangers now should be free and easy on Friday with a one-game lead  in the series.

8:59 p.m.: Unfortunately, the blog is fading in and out. I can’t add much right now anyway since we’re closing in on deadline.

Can’t tell you I’ve figured out yet where that Gomez penalty occurred. Tough call. ... It would be 2-1 if it weren’t for Lundqvist.

8:06 p.m.: Ranger goal scored by Brendan Shanahan, who got the puck along the side boards after it appeared Scott Gomez lost possession of it. Shanahan really looked like he was trying to feed a cutting Gomez, but Gomez didn’t get the deflection (although in real time I though he had).

Ironic goal. Not just because Gomez — the crowd’s whipping boy — scored it, but because the Rangers had just finished another dreadful PP. Well…now it’s time for another.

7:44 p.m.: It’s a 0-0 tie through one. Blueshirts on the PP to start the 2nd.

Not a good finish to the period for the Rangers, who are struggling to do much against the Devils’ defensive system.

Avery, as you probably know, returned only a few minutes after he left the ice. As my colleague Carp said when he saw the stitches, that won’t look good tomorrow…Of course, that’s probably how Avery prefers it. (As an aside, the consensus here is the puck that hit Avery came off Marty Brodeur’s stick…that outta continue their love affair.)

That period will not go on the resume tapes of most Rangers. Surprisingly, you can count Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi among them.

Also, I saw Jagr go to the locker room with 1:12 to play. Not sure if he’s banged up or just getting back there early because he had just finished his final shift of the period. It’s worthwhile noting that he missed the PP.

7:26 p.m.: No update on Avery, but that looked like it hurt. The puck deflected off his stick blade and into his left eye. For such a tough guy, Avery sure seemed to be in serious pain.

What effect will it have? The Rangers just had a terrible power play without their emotional leader, including a near-goal by Sergei Brylin.

7:21 p.m.: Above is a picture taken from my seat at press row, which is a far cry from the Garden.

Good action so far (only three whistles in 9 minutes), not many chances. Jagr came awfully close to burying that one-timer. That would’ve been a nice start for the Rangers.

7:06 p.m.: Sorry…Officials: Greg Kimmerly, Bill McCreary as the refs, Greg Devorski and Brad Kovachik as the linesmen.

And geez, is this building nice.

Scratches:

NYR — Marek Malik, Petr Prucha, Colton Orr, Jason Strudwick

NJD — Vitaly Vishnevski, Sheldon Brookbank, Rod Pelley, Barry Tallackson, Karel Rachunek

Starting lineups:

NYR — Marc Staal and Michal Rozsival; Martin Straka, Brandon Dubinsky, Jaromir Jagr; Henrik Lundqvist

NJD — Colin White and Mike Mottau; Dainius Zubrus, MIke Rupp and David Clarkson; Martin Brodeur

Obviously, this means Mara is in the lineup, as is Hollweg. And…admittedly, I must’ve been seeing things yesterday with Avery.

I mention this house because it had a couple bathrooms that were larger than the press room here at the Pru. Throw in the fact that there’s absolutely no windows and the size and smell of my surroundings aren’t much different from a very small locker room. I, too, can’t wait for the game to start.

Unfortunately, your desperate waiting for the lineup is going to continue. Tom Renney was yet again non-committal in his pregame chat with reporters. He offered the following:

“Game-time on that,” he said.

There was a little back and forth and it was clear Renney was playing coy. Hey, at least he had fun with it, right? (Belichick could learn from this.)

One reporter pressed Renney on whether his decision had anything to do with injuries. He said no, then added the following:

“I’m contemplating the assets and attributes of different people that would be in the lineup tonight and what I’ll need. It’s not necessarily based on what this game requires. It’s more based on what we require to win.”

Is what they require to win a couple physical guys? If so, we may very well see Hollweg and/or Strudwick. Stay tuned…

I’ll throw up a post once we find out the scratches, then I’ll have more to share throughout the game. I won’t be quite as diligent with the blogging as I was during last year’s first round series. Sammy was here then, so I had more time. Please stay with me during the game though and I’ll pass along any news  I can share.

Talk to you in an hour…