The Rangers were drubbed by the Devils, 5-1, in the first installment of the Hudson River Rivalry on Monday night at the Garden.
Here are the takeaways...
- New York allowed the Devils to take a two-goal advantage less than 10 minutes into the game as Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer found the back of the net on two of New Jersey's first five shots on goal -- and they never looked back from there.
- Sluggish starts have become a common theme for the Rangers during their disappointing start to the season, and goaltender Igor Shesterkin has allowed five first-period goals over his last seven starts. Shesterkin has lost each of his last five appearances and he's given up a total of 18 goals over that span.
- The Rangers had numerous opportunities to cut into the lead, but they went 1-for-3 on the power play, with their lone goal coming via a Chris Kreider juicy rebound. New Jersey's pesky penalty kill was in the shooting lanes all night, blocking a total of 25 shots, and goaltender Jacob Markstrom made key save after key save to keep the big advantage.
- The Devils certainly seem to have found their guy in net in Markstrom, who stopped 39 of the 40 shots he faced. The 34-year-old is now tied with Vancouver's Kevin Lankanen for third in the league with 13 wins.
- New Jersey's power play also proved to be the difference in this one. First it was defenseman Dougie Hamilton who fired home a one-timer midway through a 5-on-3 advantage, then it was Jack Hughes who picked up his second goal of the game with a wicked wrister from the point during a 4-on-3. They are the top-ranked power play unit for a reason, picking up their ninth multi-PPG game of the season.
- Hughes continued his complete domination of the Rangers, recording a point on all three of the Devils' second-period goals. It marked the sixth time in his career that he's put up three points in a single period, putting him behind only John MacLean for the franchise record.
- Bratt finished the night with a goal and three assists, giving him a total of seven points over his last three games. The one-time All-Star now sits in fifth in the league with 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists), just three behind Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for the NHL lead.
Game MVP: Jack Hughes
Hughes now has points in every game he's played at MSG since March 4, 2022.