The New Jersey Devils (38-34-2) dropped their season series finale to the New York Rangers (31-35-9) on Tuesday. The Devils suffered a lopsided 4-1 defeat, but still won the season series against their rival.
Game Recap
First Period
The first period to start was slow and not a lot happened. The Devils controlled the pace of the period, registering the first three shots on goal. For the first eight minutes of the period, the Devils held the Rangers to without a shot on net. It took until the 11:49 mark to have their first shot on goal and it makes its way into the back of the net. Tye Kartye made no mistake throwing the puck towards the front of the net and it got deflected by Connor Sheary to give the Rangers the lead.
Dougie Hamilton would commit the first penalty of the game and the Rangers power play that’s been quite good went to work. Parked in front of the net was J.T. Miller, who received an a cross-ice pass from Adam Fox, for the easy tap-in goal to extend the lead 2-0. The Rangers finished the period with seven of the final eight shots on goal. The Devils had work to do, being down by two heading into the second period.
The Rangers were the stronger team, even during five-on-five play. They held the edge in shot attempts (21-17), and held the edge in scoring chances 13-9. They had plenty of real estate in the high danger areas (8-1), and dominated the expected goals share 1.13-0.51. An ugly period for the Devils, who needed to bounce back.
Second Period
The Devils responded and it took 51 seconds into second period. A shot from the blue line generated a rebound and Nico Hischier pounced on the loose puck. He slid it over to Connor Brown, who poked it onto the open net. The Devils kept pressing trying to get the equalizer, but it was short lived. 11 minutes later the Rangers scored yet again to extend the lead to two goals. A chance by Braden Schneider drew a rebound and saw Jaroslav Chmelar pounce on the loose puck and extend the lead 3-1. It was a clean period the rest of the way and the Devils could not find a way to answer.
Despite finding themselves down by two, the Devil were the stronger five-on-five team in terms of possession. They held the edge in shot attempts (22-18), but saw them get outshot 12-9. Scoring chances were relatively even and so were the expected goals share margins (1-0.94) in favor of the Rangers.
Third Period
The Rangers extended the lead three minutes into the third period. Mika Zibanjead lit the lamp to make it 4-1 Rangers.
This period would end in major fireworks, with Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markström having a goalie fight in the Rangers end of the ice. It was the third goalie fight we’ve seen this 2025-26 season. No matter the push back, the Devils suffered defeat 4-1 when the horn sounded.
Wrap Up
The Devils lost the season series finale 4-1 to the Rangers. Connor Brown scored his 16th goal of the season on the power play and Markström stopped 18-of-22 shots he faced. Igor Shesterkin was a brick wall in net, finishing with a .957 save percentage.
Game Notes
- Simon Nemec had a positive impact on the game. In 22:01 of time once, shot attempts were 31-9 in favor of the Devils when he was on the ice. Also, expected goals were 1.19-0.31. Results weren’t there, but impact sure was.
- Markström finished Tuesday’s game with a -1.54 goals saved above expected and a .818 save percentage. He allowed three of four goals from the high danger areas of the ice.
What’s Next?
The Devils return home to take on the Capitals Thursday night.