After a successful homestand, the New Jersey Devils (35-31-2, 7th Metropolitan) beat the New York Rangers (28-32-8, 8th Metropolitan) 6-3 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

First Period

The Devils had New York’s number to start the game, notching 12 of the first 13 shots of the game. They had multiple highe-danger scoring chances in the opening minutes, including two odd-man rushes led by Jack Hughes that didn’t go. New Jersey did a good job of forcing turnovers in the neutral zone and creating odd-man rushes.

But it would be the Rangers who struck first at 15:20. Vladislav Gavrikov scored the goal from the blue line, with Jacob Markström screened by three players and fooled by a ricochet off Dougie Hamilton.

The Devils didn’t have to wait long to get back in the game, going on the power play off a Gabe Perrault holding call. They capitalized immediately off the faceoff, with Nico Hischier batting the puck out of midair after Jesper Bratt’s pass tipped off of Connor Brown’s stick in front of the net.

The Devils weren’t done yet, as Arseny Gritsyuk scored late in the period to put the Devils up 2-1. He made a great coast-to-coast play, putting on a burst of speed in the neutral zone, pulling the puck one-handed around Adam Fox, and finishing by tucking the puck under the crossbar.

The Devils dominated the first period from start to finish. They led the shots 17-2 and earned a 78.79 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at five-on-five.

Second Period

The Rangers got out to a fast start as Mika Zibanejad tied it seconds into the period. It was a bad play all around for the Devils. Dougie Hamilton made a mistake that left Zibanejad open in the slot, and Jacob Markström had the puck in his glove but couldn’t squeeze it.

The Devils regained the momentum with a power play on a J.T. Miller holding call. They didn’t score, but were strong with the man advantage, especially when the second unit came out. They then killed off a Ranger power play caused by a Johnathan Kovacevic hooking call.

New Jersey went right back to the power play when Alexis Lafreniere got nabbed for hooking, ending New York’s power play prematurely. Connor Brown capitalized on the opportunity, turning on a slick Jack Hughes pass in front of the net after Hughes danced through the Rangers’ defense unimpeded to make it 3-2.

The Devils continued to roll, killing off another Ranger power play and tilting the ice. Jack Hughes had a speeding breakaway chance all the way from his end, but Jonathan Quick did not bite. New Jersey had another great flurry of chances led by Timo Meier off a bad defensive-zone turnover by the Rangers.

The Devils could have easily been up 5-2 at the end of the second period, as they dominated yet again. They outshot New York 13-9 while dominating special teams.

Third Period

The teams started off the third period fairly evenly, exchanging shifts in the offensive zones over the first few minutes. The Devils got another power play opportunity five minutes in off a Mika Zibanejad tripping call.

It was another solid power play for the Devils, but they didn’t convert. Seconds after the penalty expired, however, they did. Paul Cotter broke free off an offensive zone turnover, shot it into Quick, and Timo Meier pounced on the rebound to give the Devils a 4-2 lead.

The Rangers got back into the game minutes later, as Connor Sheary scored off Matthew Robertson’s rebound to cut the lead to 4-3. The Rangers finally built some momentum after the Sheary goal, getting great chances and creating a series of turnovers in the Devils’ zone.

Jack Hughes quashed that momentum when he finally scored at 13:05. Under pressure with multiple Rangers on him at the top of the offensive zone, he executed a give-and-go play with Simon Nemec and uncorked a powerful slapshot to make it 5-3.

Jesper Bratt sealed it a few minutes later with a shot off Zibanejad’s stick, fooling Quick to blow it open with a 6-3 score.

It was another strong period for the Devils despite a hiccup in the middle. They outshot the Rangers 10-6.

Results

It’s been a tough season for the Devils, but beating the Rangers is always a morale-booster. They controlled almost all of the game, buzzing on offense and frustrating the Rangers on defense. The Devils played a great game overall.

Game Notes

• Nico Hischier’s first-period goal was a historic one for the Devils. Hischier gained sole possession of fifth place on the all-time franchise goal leaderboard with 195, passing Zach Parise. He also passed Bobby Holik for eighth place in all-time franchise points. Jesper Bratt tallied his 500th assist on the goal, tying Kirk Muller for all-time franchise assists.
• Jack Hughes had another great night against the Rangers, a team he loves to beat up on. He scored a goal and two assists while driving the offense every time he was on the ice. He now has 20 goals and 35 points in 25 career games against New York.
• The Devils have dominated the Rangers going back to last season, with a 5-1-0 record against their cross-river rivals since the start of the 2024-25 season.

Up Next

The Devils will travel to Washington to take on the Capitals Friday night.