Jaromir Jagr did his very best impression of Willis Reed at Madison Square Garden last night,dressing for Game 3 of the Rangers’ opening-round series against the Devils despite suffering from a badly injured left shoulder.And though Jagr’s return to the lineup whipped the Garden crowd into a veritable frenzy, his teammates didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. When the final horn sounded, the Blueshirts fell by a 3-0 score to their Hudson River rivals, falling behind 3-0 in their best-of-seven series and all but dashing their Stanley Cup hopes.

The goat of Game 2, Rangers defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh was booed from the moment he touched the puck, and it didn’t take very long for the fans’ catcalls to have a predictable effect. Just one minute into the game, Ozolinsh turned the puck over at the Devils’ blue line, sending Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner off on a 2-on-1 rush.

Predictably, the opportunistic Devils capitalized on Ozolinsh’s gaffe and drew first blood. Elias directed a perfect cross-ice feed to Jamie Langenbrunner, who one-timed the puck past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Devils the early lead. For the outraged fans, perhaps this can serve as a lesson: Mercilessly booing a player when your team is in a must-win situation – no matter how much he might be reviled – is never a good idea.

The Blueshirts went on the attack following Langenbrunner’s tally, drawing a power play on a tripping penalty to David Hale. As the Rangers moved the puck around the Devils’ zone, it quickly became apparent that Jagr was severely limited in his physical capacities. Unable to shoot the puck with authority, the star winger was essentially limited to playmaking duties, and so the Rangers’ most devastating weapon – Jagr’s laserlike shot – was a non-factor.

Midway through the first stanza, the Rangers’ Petr Prucha was manhandled by Hale behind the Devils’ net. But no penalty was called, and the Devils quickly carried the puck the other way, with Elias burying the rebound off a Langenbrunner shot past a sprawled-out Lundqvist for a 2-0 Devils lead.

The Rangers went on the power play again late in the first period, moving the puck around the Devils’ zone at will for the first time in the series.Their best scoring chance came when Ozolinsh pinched in and delivered a gorgeous cross-ice pass to Petr Sykora. But the former Devil hit the post with his one-timer.

Fans were still trickling back to their seats when the Devils struck again less than three minutes into the second, when Brian Gionta’s seemingly harmless shot from the point was redirected by Zach Parise past Lundqvist to give the Devils a commanding 3-0 lead. When the horn sounded to end the second period, that’s how the score remained.

In the third period, the Devils retreated into a shell, focusing their attentions almost completely on keeping the puck out of their zone. The Rangers fired just six shots on goaltender Martin Brodeur in the period, a testament to how well the disciplined Devils shut them down.

Without question, the Rangers outplayed the Devils for much of Game 3 – as they did for most of Game 2, for that matter – but were again undone by a few ill-timed errors. Meanwhile, the positionally sound Devils gave the Blueshirts precious few high quality scoring chances, keeping the Rangers’ forwards on the perimeter and making Brodeur’s job quite easy.

In all, Brodeur made 25 saves – none of them particularly difficult – to earn the victory. It was Brodeur’s 21st career shutout, placing him just two behind Patrick Roy. If Brodeur and the red-hot Devils continue to play as well as they have over the past 14 games, that mark is in serious jeopardy.

The two teams meet again on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and given the dire circumstances, it’s very likely that Jagr won’t suit up. His appearance in last night’s game, while good for generating pre-game excitement, ultimately had no bearing on the final score. With the Blueshirts’ backs pressed so firmly against the wall, there is precious little reason to hope that Jagr will be any more impactful on Saturday. The Rangers’ long-term interests will be best served if the courageous Jagr instead begins recuperating in preparation for next season.

Mr. Greenstein is the Editor in Chief of InsideHockey.com.