Yegor Sharangovich and Nicholas Merkley scored pivotal third-period goals, lifting the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, handing them their fourth consecutive loss.
Pavel Zacha, Will Butcher, and Mikhail Maltsev also found the net for New Jersey, marking their first game back after a COVID-19-related pause. Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves, while Janne Kuokkanen added three assists to the Devils’ tally.
“Our main focus was to play a solid game and get our legs back under us,” Blackwood said. “Getting the win was huge. We accomplished both of our goals tonight.”
Colin Blackwell and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Rangers, while Igor Shesterkin recorded 32 saves, suffering his third straight loss.
“That’s a team coming off a two-week break, and yet they outplayed us,” said Rangers alternate captain Chris Kreider. “They outworked, outskated, and outcompeted us. They wanted it more. It’s unacceptable.”
Sharangovich gave the Devils a 3-2 lead at 10:43 of the third period, redirecting P.K. Subban’s shot past Shesterkin with an assist from Jesper Bratt. Merkley doubled the lead at 14:09, scoring his first goal of the season after forcing a turnover and firing a shot from the slot.
“We just wanted to be aggressive and pressure their defense,” Merkley said. “That’s what our line did all night, and good things happened.”
Butcher gave the Devils a 2-1 lead late in the second period with a shot that deflected off Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba. The Rangers responded quickly, tying the game at 2-2 with a goal from Buchnevich in the final minute of the period, assisted by Kreider and Trouba.
“We need to understand the difference between winning and losing and what it takes to win,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “You’d think scoring late in the second would give us momentum, but it didn’t. A lot of things didn’t go right for us tonight.”
Zacha scored at 7:37 of the second period with a power-play goal, breaking the Rangers’ streak of 22 consecutive penalty kills. Blackwell tied it up for the Rangers with a wrist shot after Brett Howden set him up with a pass.
Maltsev sealed the victory for the Devils with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
“This group is hungry to win,” said Devils coach Lindy Ruff. “They’ve faced disappointments in the past, but they believe in each other and how we’re playing. You can see the energy and emotion.”
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin missed his second straight game due to a lower-body injury, and rookie defenseman K’Andre Miller also sat out due to an upper-body injury sustained during practice.
COVID-19 PAUSE
The Devils were playing their first game since January 31st after 19 players were placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 list. The league has announced schedule changes due to multiple postponements.
TIGHT FINISHES
Eleven of the Rangers’ last 12 games have been decided by two or fewer goals, with eight of those being one-goal games.
NEARING A MILESTONE
Travis Zajac, currently on the NHL COVID-19 list, is two games away from becoming the fourth player to skate in 1,000 games with the Devils, joining Martin Brodeur, Ken Daneyko, and Patrik Elias.
UP NEXT:
- Rangers: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
- Devils: Travel to face the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
