Quite a Monday afternoon for the New Jersey Devils – recording a 5-0 win over the New York Rangers. The Devils (23-11-3) are now first in the Metropolitan Division and have won against the Rangers (16-17-1) twice this season so far. The Hudson River Rivalry will always be a fan favorite.
With immense excitement from the crowd, the New Jersey Devils were fired up every period. Playing with full force and overall outstanding dynamics, the team successfully achieved a satisfying win.
The success of Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes dominated the ice with the first goal of the afternoon early into the first period. Jack Hughes recorded his 14th goal of the season, not only assisted by Jesper Bratt, but also by Dougie Hamilton, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead against the Rangers.
Despite the multiple penalties called amongst both teams, the Devils cleared each penalty kill, limiting the Rangers ability to score. Meanwhile, the Rangers struggled to clear any penalty kills, resulting in three power-play goals being scored by the Devils.
In the second period, Timo Meier scored his 13th goal of the season on the Devils power play, with assists by the Devils Ironman, Dawson Mercer and alternate captain, Ondrej Palat.
On another Devils power play, Jack Hughes then scored his second goal of the night, being his 15th goal of the season, extending the Devils lead to 3-0. His goal was assisted by his brother, Luke Hughes and linemate, Jesper Bratt.
In the third, Stefan Noesen extends the Devils lead to 4-0 by finding the back of the Rangers net. Being assisted by the Devils Captain, Nico Hischier and teammate Timo Meier. Dawson Mercer nets the final goal of the night on the Devils power play, with assists by Jack and Luke Hughes, resulting in the 5-0 win against the New York Rangers.
In this game, the New Jersey Devils recorded 29 shots on goal against the Rangers goalie, Johnathan Quick. Meanwhile, the Rangers only had 12 shots on the Devils net. The Devils were successful on all four of their power plays scoring on three out of the four. Having a 75% power play percentage. The Rangers had no success on their four power plays, resulting in a 0% power play percentage.
Both teams sustained 24 penalty minutes evenly. The Devils dominate five takeaways with the Rangers only having one. The Devils won 18 out of 40 face-offs while the Rangers won 22 out of 40.
Tonight, Devils’, Jack Hughes has successfully recorded another three-point night. With this also being his second two-goal game this season. Meanwhile, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, and Dawson Mercer all shared the pleasure of having a two-point night to welcome the Holiday Break. Jack Hughes was the Devils First Star of the night, Jesper Bratt being Second Star and Jacob Markstrom being the Third Star of the night as he had an impressive save percentage of 100% and recorded his third shutout this season, with two shutouts being back-to-back.
“I’m really lucky to be a Devil and we have great fans. I love how much they have my back. I look up in the stands and see a million 86 jerseys, I think this fanbase loves me and I love playing here.”- Devils forward, Jack Hughes
After the Holiday Break, the New Jersey Devils will welcome the Carolina Hurricanes back to the Prudential Center for a 7 p.m. matchup on December 27th.
