3 Takeaways From Devils’ 6-3 Win Over Rangers

With his secondary assist in this game, Bratt recorded his 500th NHL point. He wasn’t done there, though, as he scored the final goal of the night, bringing his point total to 501. In 620 games, that’s an incredible accomplishment. 

Bratt is currently in second place on the Devils’ leaderboard with 54 points. He technically has the same amount of points as Hughes, but since he has more goals, Bratt is in second place. He has been a major part of the Devils’ offense this season, especially while Hughes was out with an injury. Congratulations to Bratt for recording his 500th NHL point. Here’s to the next 500. 

Devils Kept Special Teams Strong 

The Devils drew four penalties out of the Rangers and managed to cash in on two of them. As mentioned above, Hischier capitalized to get the Devils on the board. In the second period, Alexis Lafrenière was forced to take a seat for hooking Dawson Mercer. Just 15 seconds into their extra-man advantage, Hischier passed the puck to Hughes, who skated the puck up to the net. He sent an expert pass down to Brown in front, who scored to give the Devils the lead again. 

With two power-play goals and a strong penalty kill, denying the Rangers a chance to score on their two extra-man advantages, New Jersey had a great command of their special teams all night. The Devils are in the middle of the pack on both their penalty kill and their power play. On the power play, the Devils are 11th in the league, and on the penalty kill, they are 13th overall. Special teams aren’t always their strongest, but it was a big reason why the Devils won this game. 

Devils Controlled the Puck All Night 

Another significant part of the Devils’ success was due to their puck control. They held the Rangers to single-digit shots the entire night. In the first period, the Devils had 17 shots while the Rangers only had two. Unfortunately, New York scored on their second shot of the night, but New Jersey had strong puck control throughout the first period. 

The second period saw the Rangers score on their third shot of the night, but the Devils kept them at bay for the remainder of the period. New York took nine shots in the middle frame, their most in a single period. The Devils had 12 and scored twice. 

The third period saw seven shots for the Rangers and 10 for the Devils. The Rangers squeaked out a goal, but the Devils scored three times in the final 20 minutes. 

By the end of the game, the Devils had more than double the shots the Rangers had, and they had also doubled New York’s score. The consistent puck movement and control in their zone allowed the Devils to pull out the win. 

Devils Continue Their Road Trip 

The Devils will head south to the nation’s capital, where they will take on the Washington Capitals on Friday, March 20. 

The two teams will close out the season series on March 31 at Madison Square Garden.