Recap: Jack Hughes Haunts the Rangers Again in 6-3 Devils Win

After the New York Rangers' unexpected win streak was snapped by Artemi Panarin and the Los Angeles Kings, they now focus on hosting their Garden State rival, the New Jersey Devils. While both Metropolitan teams are struggling this season, with the Devils' difficulties a bit more surprising, the last time these two teams faced off was in early March, when Jack Hughes, fresh off his gold medal game, scored four points, including a hat trick, to lead New Jersey to an easy victory.

No surprises in the roster Mike Sullivan assembled today. Jonathan Quick will lead the Rangers onto the ice against the Devils, but the lines around him will remain the same as the two teams prepare for battle.

First Period

Despite the Rangers getting the first shot on net, the Devils dominated from the start. The Rangers struggled to keep up, and it seemed they were playing shorthanded for long stretches. Simon Nemec and Arseny Gritsyuk were cycling all over the offensive zone at will, forcing Quick to make big stops before the Rangers could clear the puck and change lines.

Despite their overall struggles, Zibanejad's line applied some pressure, but it led to an odd-man rush for Hughes and Brown, with Quick stopping Hughes and Connor Brown's rebound attempt blocked by Borgen. This wasn’t the only early opportunity for the Devils' top line; it seemed like every time they hit the ice, they nearly scored. On one chance, Hughes broke away on an odd-man rush; he tried to pass to Connor Brown, but Matthew Robertson broke up the play. Just over halfway into the period, the Devils were outshooting the Rangers 10-1, with the Blueshirts struggling to generate any forechecking or momentum.

Every Rangers possession would quickly end in the Devils' zone, either with a giveaway or a takeaway, leading to an odd-man rush for the Devils that forced Quick to make a save. That was the case for every Rangers possession until Lafrenière ended up with the puck in the offensive zone fifteen minutes into the period. He held onto the puck, trying to create a scoring chance, and then shot wide of the net. He chased the puck down along the sideboards and took a few strides, exploiting the space the Devils allowed him. He shifted toward the point and passed to Vladislav Gavrikov, who stepped in and fired a wrist shot that went through multiple players, including Jacob Markstrom, to give Gavrikov his 14th goal of the season and the Rangers their first lead of the game.

The lead wouldn't last a minute as the Devils would take advantage of the power play awarded to them when Gabe Perreault was sent to the penalty box for holding Jack Hughes. The Devils won the first face-off, cycled the puck, and Jesper Bratt sent the puck on net. Connor Brown got a piece of it and deflected it up high, surprising Quick. The puck went off of Quick and the post, and Nico Hischier, waiting for the puck to fall below the crossbar, batted it into the net to tie the game.

As the period wound down, Hughes and the Devils remained relentless. They skated the puck deep into the zone, forcing the Rangers' defense to chase them, then centered the puck up to the top of the slot. Quick made a tremendous save on Hischier and went the extra mile with a snow angel, keeping the game tied at one. However, this didn't deter the Devils. After Arseny Gritsyuk intercepted a pass in his zone, he skated into the neutral zone, deking around Adam Fox, who immediately turned and hustled back to cover the pass. Nevertheless, it didn't matter, as Gritsyuk went the full length of the ice and fired a shot into the top corner past Quick, taking the lead for the Devils as the period ended.

Second Period

Despite the Rangers' terrible first period, the team started strong in the second. Right after the opening face-off, Perreault skated into the Devils' zone and pressured Hamilton into making a bad pass. Zibanejad grabbed the puck and skated in on Markstrom, cleanly beating his glove hand to tie the game at two.

This period wasn't as lopsided as the first, but the Devils remained the better team by far. Their breakout continued to wreak havoc on the Rangers and eventually led to the first penalty of the period, when J.T. Miller was called for holding Hischier. The Rangers held their ground, and more specifically, Quick stood tall and prevented the Devils from taking the lead, though it wasn't due to a lack of effort from the Devils' power play unit. Jack Hughes had an excellent chance and attempted a Peter Forsberg Olympic move around Quick, but it surprised everyone, including his own team, and went wide of the net.

The Rangers would get their own power play, but also failed to convert. The best chance was by Miller, who tried to corral a rebound right in front of the net, but he couldn't push it past Markstrom. Just as the Rangers' power play was ending, Lafrenière was called for hooking, and this time the Devils made them pay. In the Rangers' zone, Hischier and Hughes had a give-and-go, with Hughes showing off his edgework as he skated around the perimeter of the zone. He skated down low, drawing the Rangers' penalty kill out of position, and slid a perfect pass to Connor Brown, who launched the puck past Quick into the net to give the Devils the lead again.

The broadcast showed a statistic indicating that the Devils had more missed shot attempts than the Rangers had total shot attempts, and right on cue, the Rangers earned another power play as Simon Nemec slashed Lafrenière, who had a partial breakaway. The Blueshirts mostly wasted this power play opportunity, and shortly after time expired, Hughes had a breakaway attempt of his own, but once again, Quick made a crucial save to keep it a one-goal game.

As the period was counting down, Jack Hughes was hanging high in the defensive zone. He read the play and started skating toward the Rangers’ net, but clipped the referee as he went past and went sprawling, missing a breakaway chance. When the play was whistled down, the referee skated over to Hughes, and the two were seen animatedly talking about what had just happened. The period ended shortly after, with the Devils leading by one and outshooting the Rangers 30-11.

Third Period

The start of the third period wasn't much better for the Blueshirts. Zibanejad was called for tripping, giving the Devils another power play. After some good looks, the Rangers killed off the penalty thanks to a great defensive play by Tye Kartye, who dove at the blue line, knocking a pass out of the zone and clearing it to end the power play. Still, whether on the power play or not, the Devils scored a goal. Right after Zibanejad left the box, Gavrikov turned over the puck to Paul Cotter, who skated alone toward Quick. Quick made a diving save, but Timo Meier grabbed the rebound beside the net, spun around, and scored on a bad-angle shot to give the Devils a two-goal lead.

With his team trailing, Trocheck was caught on camera trying to get a sneak peek on the Devils' plans. Perhaps hoping to leverage the good graces being Team USA teammates with Hughes, it ultimately failed as Simon Nemec pushed him away.

Near the halfway mark, the Rangers managed to sustain some rare offensive zone time. The combination of Kartye, Miller, and Sheary was effective in cycling the puck and disrupting the Devils' attempts to pass the puck out of the zone. Miller passed the puck to Robertson at the blue line, who wound up and sent a shot toward the net. Nick Bjugstad blocked the shot in the slot, and Conor Sheary, who was in the right place at the right time, snapped the puck past Markstrom to bring the Rangers within one.

The Rangers kept generating chances as they pressed to tie the game. Lafrenière made an excellent play to knock the puck down and keep it in the Devils' zone; he was starting to feel it and stickhandled around the zone, leading to a great rebound chance that Perreault just couldn't put past Markstrom. Miller led his line onto the ice and also had a few opportunities of their own, but once the Devils raced back the other way, they made the Rangers pay. Jack Hughes rang a shot off the post, but after cycling with his linemates, he beat Quick on his next shot to give the Devils the two-goal lead once again.

Although the Rangers kept up with the Devils in the final minutes, things eventually started to fall apart. Jesper Bratt teamed up with Hughes to score another goal, further extending their lead. The two teams played out the rest of the game, and the Rangers lost to the Devils 6-3, the same score as their loss in early March.