Recap: Jack Hughes Hat Trick Powers Devils 6-3 Over Rangers

We've had to wait until March, but the first installment of the Hudson River rivalry is here. The New Jersey Devils opened up the scoring just over one minute into the game, but two New York Rangers blue liners chipped in to give the Rangers an early lead. In the final seconds of the opening frame, the Devils scored on the man advantage to tie the game back up.

Even though the second period started off slow, both teams found the back of the net in the final few minutes, which set up an exciting third period. However, the third period belonged to the Devils, which featured two goals from Jack Hughes and helped the Devils cruise to a 6-3 victory.

While he was held out of the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vincent Trocheck returned to the lineup. As a result, Jonny Brodzinski did not play. Here is what the New York Rangers lines looked like:

First Period

The Rangers had a decent opening shift, but to no one's surprise, the Devils opened the scoring with a goal from Jesper Bratt 1:06 into the period. Cody Glass carried the puck into the Rangers after a turnover from Vladislav Gavrikov. Glass found Bratt, who was left wide open in front of the net. Bratt's wrister beat Quick, which gave the Devils the early 1-0 lead.

Following the opening goal, Jaroslav Chmelar drew a high-sticking call on Nick Bjugstad, which gave the Rangers the game's first power play opportunity. With Vincent Trocheck back in the lineup, he returned to the first power play unit, and Will Cuylle went back to the second unit. The power play was unsuccessful, and the Rangers did not get a single shot on goal.

After the power play, Jonathan Quick made multiple impressive saves to keep it a one-goal game. His efforts paid off as Will Borgen tied the game at 1-1. Trocheck carried the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone before he dropped it for Borgen. Borgen's shot got past Jacob Markstrom and got the Rangers on the board.

The Rangers weren't done scoring, and it was another defenseman. Gavrikov had a beautiful slap shot off a nice feed from Noah Laba. Laba had drawn the Devils defenseman towards him before he made a backward pass to Gavrikov, who was all alone. After the costly turnover, Gavrikov did not make another mistake and gave the Blueshirts a 2-1 lead.

With just under two minutes left in the opening period, Gavrikov got called for interference, and New Jersey got their first power play of the game down one. Despite having only scored once on their last 26 power plays heading into the game, the Devils tied the game on the man advantage. Luke Hughes shot the puck near the point, and Dawson Mercer was able to get a piece of it and beat Quick to tie the game at 2-2 right before the end of the period.

Second Period

The second period got off to an uneventful start, but the Devils controlled play with the first 4 shots on goal. Quick stood tall between the pipes to keep the game tied as he was tested more than Markstrom early on in the second frame. The Blueshirts also brought a much more physical game than the Devils, having delivered 17 hits to the Devils' 4 through 30 minutes of play.

At about the halfway point of the period, the Rangers went back on the power play after Tye Kartye drew an interference call on Jack Hughes. Right from the start of the man advantage, the Rangers shot the puck left and right but couldn't find the back of the net. Unfortunately for New York, their early aggressiveness slowed down, and the Devils killed off another penalty.

The Devils answered the Rangers' power play with their own attempt after a slashing call on Trocheck. While on the power play, New Jersey got some good shots off on Quick but he kept the back of his net clean, but just as the power play expired, Jack Hughes ripped a shot from the blue line. Hughes' shot took a friendly bounce off the post to give the Devils a 3-2 lead as time wound down in the second.

The Rangers answered with a goal of their own less than a minute later. A strong forecheck allowed the Rangers to control the puck in the Devils' zone before they worked the puck up to Braden Schneider. Schneider took the far shot, and Will Cuylle got a piece of the puck to tie the game at three goals apiece. Even though the period started slow, it picked up in the final minutes.

After Cuylle's goal, neither team scored in the final minutes of the second period. Just like after the first period, the game was tied as the two teams prepared for an intense third period.

Third Period

Just over two minutes into the third period, Juuso Parssinen delivered a hit on Connor Brown. The hit drew a response from Arseny Gritsyuk, which resulted in a four-minute roughing call. Parssinen was also given an interference penalty; as a result, the Rangers were handed a power play opportunity.

While on the powerplay, Markstrom made a beautiful save off a brilliantly designed play from the Rangers. Mika Zibanejad faked a one-timer and made a pass to Alexis Lafrenière, who was waiting in front of the net. Lafrenière then passed it to Perreault, who had a beautiful back door opportunity, but Markstrom robbed him to keep the game tied. The power play expired, and the game remained tied thanks to Quick, who made some amazing saves against the Devils' penalty killers.

A few minutes later, Cuylle got called for hooking on Timo Meier. To this point, the Devils had found success on the power play, having scored on the first attempt and just after time expired on the attempt. This time it was no different as Nico Heisher scored the go-ahead goal. Jesper Bratt took the initial shot, which Quick saved, but Heisher then pounced on the puck and lifted it over the shoulder of Quick.

Nearly three minutes after the Hischier goal, the Rangers went back on the power play for the fourth time due to a delay of game penalty on Brenden Dillon. Once again, the Rangers were unsuccessful on the power play. During a critical moment of the game, the Blueshirts did not register a shot on goal.

As the Rangers were looking for the equalizer, with three minutes to go, Jack Hughes got a breakaway opportunity where he was one-on-one with Jonathan Quick. Connor Brown came away with the puck and was able to find Hughes. On the breakaway, Hughes elected to take a wrist shot and it worked gaving the Devils a 5-3 lead.

In the ensuing face-off, the Rangers pulled Quick and sent out the extra attacker. With the empty net, it was none other than Jack Hughes who scored to complete the hat trick and lead the Devils to a 6-3 victory.

The Rangers remain on the road and will take on the Philadelphia Flyers Monday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.