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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes scored twice and the New Jersey Devils broke loose for five second-period goals — four in a six-minute span — to erase an early deficit and defeat the New York Rangers 7-4 on Tuesday night.
Nico Daws made 31 saves for the Devils, who snapped an eight-game losing streak to the rival Rangers. Ryan Graves, P.K. Subban, Dawson Mercer, Tomas Tatar and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for New Jersey as the Devils shelled New York netminder Igor Shesterkin for five goals on 13 shots in the middle period.
Shesterkin had allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his past 14 starts. Alexandar Georgiev replaced the usually unflappable Rangers starter to begin the third.
Shesterkin made 19 saves and Georgiev, who blanked first-place Carolina on Sunday night, stopped five shots in the third. Georgiev allowed Hughes' 20th goal — and 100th career point — at 9:36 of the third on the power play before the 20-year-old forward scored again at 10:46.
It was the third seven-goal outburst this season for the Devils, who had lost four of their past five games including all three on a trip to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.
Mika Zibanejad opened the scoring for the Rangers at 7:10 of the first, depositing his 26th goal of the season past Daws. Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere assisted. Zibanejad, who has reached the 25-goal mark for the fifth time in his career, has goals in six of his last 10 games and points in 16 of his last 21.
Adam Fox made it 2-0 at 13:55 with his 10th goal, with an assist to Zibanejad. The Norris Trophy-winning defenseman has points in nine of his last 12 games.
After outshooting the Devils 14-11 in the first, the Rangers were dominating the second before Graves broke through for New Jersey at 7:12. Subban tied it with his fifth goal at 8:30.
Mercer put the Devils ahead 3-2 at 12:40 with his 16th goal before Tatar scored his 12th at 13:13. New Jersey even had a goal disallowed for offside following a Rangers replay challenge before Sharangovich extended the cushion to 5-2 with his 16th at 18:07.
Devils leading scorer Jesper Bratt had two assists, as did Graves and captain Nico Hischier.
Bratt became the first Devils skater with 60-plus points and 40 or more assists in a season since Taylor Hall in 2017-18. Bratt leads the team with 62 points.
The Rangers won the previous two meetings this season, both at Madison Square Garden, 4-3 in a shootout on Nov. 14 and 3-1 on March 4.
The Rangers had won five straight games in Newark dating to Nov. 30, 2019. In those five games, New York outscored New Jersey 24-7.
Three of the players acquired Monday by the Rangers made their debuts for the team — forwards Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte, and defenseman Justin Braun. Copp had two assists.
Ryan Strome scored his 15th goal for New York at 3:46 of the third before Chris Kreider completed the scoring with his 42nd goal on the power play at 14:56.
LESS TRAVEL AHEAD
The Rangers played their 35th road game of the season, most in the NHL. They will play all but one of their remaining 19 games against Eastern Conference opponents. April 19 against Winnipeg at home is the lone exception.
NOTES: The Rangers fell to 25-4-2 when they score first. … The cross-river rivals meet once more this season, April 5 in New Jersey. … The Devils scratched defenseman Colton White and forward Pavel Zacha. ... The Rangers scratched defensemen Braden Schneider and Libor Hajek plus forwards Greg McKegg, Julien Gauthier and Jonny Brodzinski. The also continued to be without injured forwards Kevin Rooney and Kaapo Kakko.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
Devils: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
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