N.Y. Rangers: Eight Points in Six Days Against Devils Keep Blueshirts in Chase

From the desks: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS & THE BRICK CITY STYX

BATTLE OF THE HUDSON

Rangers defeat Devils; 6-2

I - NJD 4; NYR 3

II - NJD 5; NYR 2

III - NYR 6; NJD 1

IV - NYR 6; NJD 3

V - NYR 3; NJD 0

VI - NYR 4; NJD 0

VII - NYR 6; NJD 3

VIII - NYR 6; NJD 3

Young Devils Taking Their Lumps

Had the Devils managed to stay out of the penalty box, they might have gotten somewhere.  Newark allowed the Rangers five power-play opportunities, and the Blueshirts converted on two.  

Nico Hischier got whistled for roughing Jacob Trouba at 5:23 of the first period.  Chris Kreider made the Devils pay just over a minute later on feeds from Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin.  

At 14:03 of the first, Vitali Kravtsov scored his first NHL goal.  It comes in his ninth game with the club.  The 21-year old was selected by the Rangers with the ninth overall pick of the 2018 draft.  

Something which brings me great joy occurred at 5:17 of the second period; Alexis Lafreniere scored his eighth goal of the season on assists from Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil.

In a very similar fashion to Saturday's game, the Rangers yielded three unanswered goals at most inopportune times.  Not once but twice, they committed one of the cardinal sins in hockey: never allow a goal in the first or last two minutes of a period.  Mikhail Maltsev did just that at 18:55 of the second period on assists from Yegor Sharangovich and P.K. Subban.  Then just 1:53 into the third period, Marian Studenik scored his first NHL goal on feeds from Andreas Johnsson and Mikhail Maltsev.  Less than four minutes later, Nico Hischier tied the game at three on assists from Nolan Foote and Nicholas Merkley.  

For Foote, it's his first NHL point in his first NHL game, and in his fourth NHL game, Marian Studenik scores his first-ever goal.

Playing minus Jesper Bratt and Pavel Zacha, the Devils won more faceoffs and generated more shots on goal but erred late in their comeback.  At 15:50 of the third period, Ryan Murray was sent to the box for high-sticking Kaapo Kakko.  Mika Zibanejad reclaimed the lead for the Blueshirts just over a minute later on assists from Adam Fox and Ryne Strome.  In turn, Strome scored the capper at 19:35 from feeds by Artemi Panarin and Colin Blackwell for a 6-3 final margin of victory.

New Jersey, one of the youngest teams in the league, is now 2-10-2 in their last 14 games.  They're presently on a six-game skid after losing two against the Penguins and four in a row against the rival Rangers, who remain four points behind the Bruins with eleven games left.  However, the Bruins have two games in hand.