Rangers 5, Devils 4 (OT) -- preseason wrap-up

 There was talk around the Prudential Center that Ilya Kovalchuk made a throat-slash gesture -- the sort of thing that gets you suspended in the NHL -- to Sean Avery when the two were jawing from their benches in the third period of tonight's preseason game.

Not true -- Kovalchuk said it was a "shut your mouth" gesture, and John Tortorella backed that up.

"There was no (throat) slash, none of that," Tortorella said.

So, that's cleared up. Avery may be the one in trouble with the league, however.

Avery got 14 minutes, four for roughing plus a 10-minute misconduct, in the second period after tussling with Dave Clarkson, then grabbing Kovalchuk on the way to the penalty box; Kovalchuk got no penalty.

"He doesn't get a penalty and I end up with 10 minutes," Avery said. "I'm specifically told it's because he's a superstar, and I can't after a superstar."

Asked who told him, Avery said: "The ref."

On with some other highlights:

-- Michael Del Zotto rebounded from a rough start -- his giveaway led right to Kovalchuk's opening goal -- and scored the winner 52 seconds into OT, the Rangers' fourth power-play goal over the final 20-plus minutes. Del Zotto assisted on the first three of those, then scored the winner.

-- Ryan Callahan and Ruslan Fedotenko each had a goal and two assists, and two juggled forward lines were sharp in the third: Todd White between Avery and Fedotenko, and Artem Anisimov between Tim Kennedy and Callahan.

-- Tryout D Garnet Exelby struggled mightily and could be a goner when Tortorella makes the next round of cuts after tomorrow's game with the Wings in Detroit.

-- Henrik Lundqvist gave up a bit of a softie in the first to Andy Greene, but was superb down the stretch.

-- Pavel Valentenko threw his body around effectively and earned some praise from Tortorella. "He stands right in there as far as the physical play," Tortorella said. "He's an interesting one."

-- Kennedy looked good on the left side after starting the game as a center. With a glut of choices down the middle (White, Brian Boyle, Chris Drury, Anisimov, Derek Stepan), Kennedy may pan out better on the left side.

-- Catch up with Steve Zipay from Detroit tomorrow.