Rangers Can't Climb Out of Early Hole vs. Devils Julio Cortez/Associated Press The Rangers got off to another slow start in Game 6 and were down 2-0 after Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the first period. NEWARK - Inspired by their captain, Ryan Callahan, the Rangers managed to overcome another slow start in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. But as in their loss two nights earlier, they could not finish the job and lost to the Devils, 3-2, on an overtime goal by Adam Henrique, bringing their season to an end on Friday night. "What our group has developed with their identity and our mind-set showed tonight," Rangers Coach John Tortorella said. We don't get it done, but I just like how we handled ourselves. The Rangers tried valiantly to make the case that they had enough stamina to win another seven-game series, after being pushed to the limit in the first two rounds of the playoffs by the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals. On Friday, the Rangers fell behind, 2-0, 13 minutes 56 seconds into the game and looked sluggish the rest of the first period. In the last three games of the series, the Devils outscored the Rangers in the first period, 7-1. "We struggled in getting our footing," Tortorella said about the latest poor start. It appeared on Friday that the Rangers" hard-nosed style of play - and they way they had to fight for every goal - was finally about to catch up with them, and they would go quietly. But with Ruslan Fedotenko, a big-game player who was one of Tortorella's stars on Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup team of 2004, and Callahan scoring goals in the second period, the Rangers found their legs and tied the score. "I love our jam," Tortorella said. Although the Rangers dominated stretches of the third period, they were unable to score the go-ahead goal. They pressed on the first shift of overtime before Henrique scored amid a mad scramble in front of the Rangers" net. After the Rangers defeated the Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Tortorella dismissed the notion that his team would be fatigued after it was extended to seven games in the first two rounds of the playoffs. But the Rangers lost four of the next five games of the series against the Devils. Since October, Tortorella's hunches about his team had often been uncanny. He mostly pushed the right buttons as he urged the Rangers to forecheck diligently and block shots with often-reckless abandon. But the Rangers did not have enough to extend another series to a Game 7. "We are still a young club," Tortorella said. We still have quite a bit to learn as to how to deal with the desperation in our third round. Fatigue may have been a factor. Five of the Rangers" most valuable skaters played their 102nd and final game of the season on Friday night: forwards Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards and Derek Stepan, and defensemen Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh. Gaborik and Richards were outplayed in the series by the Devils" best offensive forwards, Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. And on Henrique's series-winning goal 1 minutes 3 seconds into overtime, Gaborik looked lost in the defensive coverage. Still, after the game, Tortorella again took exception to the notion that his team was fatigued. "I thought the past couple of games we were the better team in the second and third period," Tortorella said. It has nothing to do with being tired. McDonagh, 22, often played more than 25 minutes a game for the Rangers in the regular season and the playoffs. In Game 6 against the Devils, McDonagh had two assists and played a team-high 28:23. "It doesn't feel right to be done now," McDonagh said. It's a tough pill to swallow. Of course, the Rangers were not the only team to have played a lot of games. But the Devils got a jolt from their grinding lines that the Rangers rarely got. While Ryan Carter, a fourth-liner, scored three goals in the series for the Devils, the towering Rangers forwards Michael Rupp and Brian Boyle were scoreless and ineffective. In the end, the slow starts proved to be too much for the Rangers to overcome, leaving their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, exhausted and emotional at season's end. "Terribly disappointing," Lundqvist said quietly. It's just a horrible feeling.