Jack Hughes scored twice and collected an assist as the host New Jersey Devils scored three power-play goals and rolled to a 5-0 victory over the sliding New York Rangers on Monday afternoon in Newark, N.J.
Hughes scored twice on goalie Jonathan Quick three weeks after scoring twice on Igor Shesterkin in New Jersey’s 5-1 rout in New York on Dec. 2. The 2019 top overall pick has 15 goals in 22 regular-season games against the Rangers.
Hughes scored 4:29 into the contest and netted a power-play goal with 8:47 left in the second after the Rangers were penalized for too many men on the ice for the second time in the period.
Timo Meier also scored a power-play goal while Stefan Noesen and Dawson Mercer scored in a span of 4:35 in the third. Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes contributed two assists apiece as the Devils won for the fifth time in six games and improved to 7-2-1 in their past 10.
Jacob Markstrom faced nine shots in the opening 40 minutes and finished with 12 saves. He posted his third shutout this season and 23rd of his career as the Devils set a team record by facing 20 shots or fewer for the seventh straight game.
The Rangers were blanked for the second time this season. Quick allowed five goals on 29 shots for New York.
The Rangers have been outscored 10-1 against the Devils this season and are 4-13-0 in their past 17. New York’s latest loss occurred after Chris Kreider was made a healthy scratch by coach Peter Laviolette.
The Devils went ahead following a neutral-zone turnover by the Rangers when Hughes used defenseman Will Borgen as a screen and put a shot from the right circle by Quick.
After Paul Cotter dug the puck out of the boards in the right corner, the Devils cycled it around to the front of the net. Dawson Mercer flicked a backhanded pass to Meier, who put a one-timer from the right circle over Quick 4:41 into the second.
Hughes scored on a one-timer from the left circle after he snuck in behind New York’s Mika Zibanejad and waited for a cross-ice pass from brother Luke Hughes.
Noesen extended his career high by getting his 16th goal when he converted an easy tap-in eight minutes into the third, and Mercer made it 5-0 by batting a puck out of the air into the net for New Jersey’s third power-play goal.
–Field Level Media
