Devils Fall 4-1 To Rangers

Coming off a 5-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Devils met with the Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, falling to the Rangers 4-1. The Rangers have a three-game winning streak, following a rough six-game losing streak. Conor Sheary, J.T. Miller, Jaroslav Chmelar, and Mika Zibanejad each found the back of the net, while the Devils only got on the board once with a goal by Connor Brown. The rivalry hit a high point in the third period when Jacob Markstrom skated the length of the ice to fight Igor Shesterkin. The Devils head home on Thursday, looking to bounce back from this loss in New York when they take on the Washington Capitals, while the Rangers host the Montreal Canadiens.

New Jersey Devils Lineup:

Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Bratt – J. Hughes – Brown
Hameenaho – Glass – Bjudstad
Dadonov – Cotter – Tsyplakov

Siegenthaler – Hamilton
L. Hughes – Kovacevic
Dillon – Nemec

Markstrom
Allen

New York Rangers Lineup:

Perreault – Zibanejad – Lafreniere
Kartye – Miller – Sheary
Cuylle – Trocheck – Sykora
Brodzinski – Laba – Chmelar

Gavrikov – Fox
Fortescue – Schneider
Robertson – Borgen

Shesterkin
Garand

Conor Sheary opened the scoring, scoring for a second straight game for his sixth goal of the season, putting the Rangers ahead 1-0 at 11:46 of the first period after a shot by Matthew Robertson was deflected by Tye Kartye, and the puck was kept in by Will Borgen, who got the puck to Kartye, and Sheary, from the right face-off circle, deflected Kartye’s shot from the right point down and past Jacob Markstrom while J.T. Miller battled with Jonas Siegenthaler in front of the Devils’ goaltender. After some passing between Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, and Vincent Trocheck, Miller extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal when Zibanejad circled, sending the puck back to Fox down near the blue line, who sent it to the right side, where Alexis Lafreniere got a hold of it, fired to the far side, and Miller put it home with a quick redirection.

Connor Brown got New Jersey on the board with his 15th goal of the season and his third goal in the past five games, only 51 seconds into the middle frame, making it 2-1 with a power-play goal. Right off the face-off, Luke Hughes fired and was denied, but Nico Hischier collected the rebound, getting denied by Igor Shesterkin, and Brown, who was in front, quickly put the puck in an open net. At 7:48, Jaroslav Chmelar deflected a shot by Braden Schneider off Markstrom’s pads, and on the left side, he collected the rebound and whacked it in backhanded to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead.

Early in the third at 16:11, Zibanejad extended New York’s lead to 4-1, scoring his 33rd of the season when he skated to the front of the net behind Jack Hughes and Siegenthaler before redirecting a pass from Gabe Perreault, who got the puck from Fox, past Markstrom.

Game Notes:

– Igor Shesterkin made a total of 22 saves for New York. His fight with Jacob Markstrom was his first NHL fight.

– Markstrom made 19 saves for New Jersey.

– Adam Fox picked up a pair of assists. …With his two assists, reaching 38 assists this season, he can become the second American defenseman in NHL history with six consecutive 40-assist campaigns. The only other to do so: Gary Suter (6 from 1987-88 – 1992-93).

– With his assist, Nico Hischier recorded his 481st career point, moving within three of tying Scott Gomez (484) for sixth place on the franchise’s all-time list.

– Passing Travis Zajac (401), Dawson Mercer holds the franchise record for the most consecutive games played.

– NYR: 31-35-9, NJ: 38-34-2

– The Devils started the night with 10 points out of a wild-card position in the Eastern Conference, and have moved closer to elimination after this loss. This was their second loss in three and third in six.

– The Rangers have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

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