Mika Zibanejad and Erik Gustafsson scored in the second period to propel the New York Rangers to a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
Vincent Trocheck also scored, and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves as the first-place Rangers secured their second consecutive win after losing three of four. New York is now 14-3-2 in its last 19 games and has beaten New Jersey three times this season after the Devils won their first-round playoff series last spring.
“They came out hard. We generated good chances and held them in check in the second. Quickie was excellent,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.
Devils defenseman Simon Nemec spoiled Quick’s shutout bid with 2:34 remaining. Kaapo Kahkonen made 23 saves in his New Jersey debut after being acquired from San Jose last Friday.
The Devils have lost eight of their last 11 games and three of four under interim coach Travis Green, who replaced Lindy Ruff on March 4.
“We didn’t convert on some really good chances,” Green said. ”It was a tough loss against a good team.”
Quick improved to 14-5-2 this season and earned his 389th career victory, tying Dominik Hasek for 15th in league history. He is two wins away from Ryan Miller’s record for most victories by an American-born goalie.
New York, coming off a 4-0 home win over St. Louis, has won 10 of its last 11 games at Madison Square Garden.
Zibanejad, who hadn’t scored since Feb. 22, backhanded the puck past Kahkonen after a New Jersey giveaway with 7:35 left in the second period. The goal was Zibanejad’s 20th this season, making him the fifth Rangers player to record seven consecutive 20-goal seasons, joining Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield, and Andy Bathgate.
“We wanted to build off that St. Louis game, and I thought we did,” Zibanejad said.
Gustafsson made it 2-0 with 52 seconds left in the second period with a shot from the point as towering forward Matt Rempe screened Kahkonen. It was Gustafsson’s sixth goal.
“I tried to find a lane but couldn’t,” Kahkonen said. ”It went in.”
With 30 seconds remaining in the second period, Rempe received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. The 21-year-old Rempe, a fan favorite since his Feb. 18 debut, was challenged by New Jersey’s Kurtis MacDermid, but officials kept them separated.
“I wish I could have gotten to him sooner and taught him a lesson,” said MacDermid, who was given a 10-minute misconduct but stayed in the game.
The 6-foot-7 Rempe mocked the Devils bench with a hand signal as he was led off the ice. Siegenthaler didn’t return for the third period.
“There’s a right way to go about things and a wrong way,” added the 6-foot-5 MacDermid. “He’s a young kid in this league. He has a lot to learn still. You don’t do things like that in your first year in the league. You’ve got to learn how to hit properly and not injure players.”
In his third NHL game, Rempe logged 17 penalty minutes and 13 seconds of ice time against New Jersey on Feb. 22. In the first period that night, he received a match penalty for his hit on the Devils’ Nathan Bastian. Siegenthaler and Rempe fought after the hit on Bastian along the boards.
“I think there’s some intent there to injure the player,” Green said of Rempe’s hit on Siegenthaler. “Call it predatorial or whatever you want to call it. It’s definitely not the first time that it’s happened and the second time against us.”
Devils leading scorer Jesper Bratt echoed his coach’s sentiments.
”I don’t like the hit,” he said. “It’s an elbow to the head. Obviously, you don’t want to see that.”
Trocheck’s empty-net goal with 1:13 remaining, his 24th, sealed the victory as the Rangers improved to 23-8-0 at home.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Visit Dallas on Thursday night to continue a four-game trip.
- Rangers: Visit Carolina on Tuesday night.
