The New York Rangers walked into their first meeting of the season with the New Jersey Devils riding a modest two-game winning streak, and they left with a night they’d probably like to bury quickly.
This one never really settled in for the Rangers after a quiet opening stretch. New Jersey got the first real opening, and when the Devils earned a true five-on-three for a full two minutes, the Rangers’ penalty kill held firm. That early kill kept things scoreless, and for a moment it looked like New York might be able to weather the first wave.
Instead, the game turned late in the period on a costly mistake. J.T.
Miller mis-hit a puck straight to Evan Rodrigues, and Rodrigues buried it past Dylan Garand for his second goal of the season. That made it 1-0 Devils, and it was the start of a runaway.
The second period got away from the Rangers almost immediately. Just 18 seconds in, Luke Hughes made it 2-0 with his second of the season.
Nico Hischier followed with his fourth goal of the year to stretch the lead to 3-0, which prompted Mike Sullivan to call timeout. It didn’t slow the Devils down.
Thirty-one seconds later, Arseny Gritsyuk added another, pushing the margin to 4-0. New York then turned to Spencer Martin after the three-goal burst in the opening five minutes of the period. Even that change didn’t stop the bleeding, as Hughes struck again later in the frame to make it 5-0.
The Rangers did not have much going offensively in the third, though they did create a good chance in the offensive zone that came up empty and led to trouble the other way. Stefan Noesen cashed in with his first of the season on a shot that beat Martin, and the Devils kept piling it on.
New York did finally get on the board when Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the power play in the third period. But even that came with a quick answer against them, as Cody Glass scored short-handed to make it 7-1.
The Rangers will try to move on fast and clean things up when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
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Rangers Humiliated By Devils As A Familiar Concern Returns
The Rangers left Prudential Center with a result that quickly turned into damage control, falling 7-1 to the Devils in a game that unraveled after a late first-period opener. New York never found much footing from there, and Pavel Dorofeyevs third-period goal only softened the final line on a night when the margin kept growing and the game moved further out of reach.
Dylan Garand got the start in net, but the early pressure from New Jersey forced the Rangers into a familiar place they would rather avoid. Once the Devils settled in, they poured it on through the middle and final periods, and the kind of comeback hope that sometimes flickers in an NHL game never really materialized for New York. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Suddenly Have A Pavel Dorofeyev Problem Mike Sullivan Can't Ignore
The Rangers have kept rolling even without Igor Shesterkin and Pavel Dorofeyev, but the latter has become a bigger talking point by the day. Dorofeyev has labored through a difficult season, and the team has already tried to spark him by moving him onto the top line, hoping a change in responsibility and surroundings would help him find his footing. For now, its another case of New York trying to keep its forward mix productive while one of its more prominent pieces searches for a rhythm.
Mike Sullivan is not treating the situation as static, either. Further line changes are on the table if Dorofeyev does not show more, and there is growing pressure on how long the club can keep waiting for the offense to catch up. The real issue is less about one cold stretch than what comes next if it continues, because the Rangers have to decide how much patience to show before they start making tougher choices with his role. [Read more 🡒]
Alexis Lafreniere Is Giving The Rangers Something Theyve Needed
The Rangers have opened the season 6-2, and the early surge has been fueled by a strong start at home, where they are still unbeaten. At the center of it all has been Alexis Lafreniere, who has emerged as the clubs most productive forward so far and given New York the kind of top-end scoring pop it has been searching for.
Lafrenieres start has included 10 points in eight games and a scoring rhythm that has kept him in the conversation every night. The pace is almost certainly going to come back to earth as the schedule wears on, but the bigger takeaway for the Rangers is harder to miss: he looks more assertive, more dangerous, and more like a player capable of carrying real offensive weight. [Read more 🡒]