Devils Embarrass Rangers in 5-1 Blowout Win
There were plenty of Instagram-worthy highlights from the New Jersey Devils' 5-1 demolition of the New York Rangers.
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As it turns out, the New Jersey Devils did catch the New York Rangers at the right time. The Devils got off to a fast start and never looked back, demolishing the Rangers 5-1 at Madison Square Garden, moving them to 17-9-2 on the season.
The Rangers have now lost six of their last seven, but that win was more about the Devils and how they picked apart a reeling Rangers defense that's been bleeding quality chances most of this season.
Devils Start Fast, Markström Takes Over
Slow starts have been a problem for the Devils lately, but they ensured that wasn't an issue last night. Jesper Bratt scored just 1:27 into the game, and it was easy to see coming, even that early.
The Rangers had already given up a couple of odd-man rushes and 2-on-1s, something that's been all too common with them lately. The Devils made them pay with Bratt's goal, then Dawson Mercer's tally a few minutes later.
It had been a while since the Devils had a 2-0 lead to begin a game, and it's a good thing they got off to a quick start because the Rangers did push back. They outshot the Devils 12-7 in the first period, but Jacob Markström stood tall, saving 0.93 goals above expected.
Markström was big-time yesterday. He had been struggling lately, but to his credit, he's coming up big against top opponents.
Aside from one goal on the power play, Markström wasn't having it. He was particularly excellent on the Devils' first penalty kill of the second period, where he made four outstanding saves to keep it a 2-0 game. Overall, the Rangers generated 1.64 expected goals on the power play, and they even had a few chances shorthanded.
But Markström was on top of his game all night, making 39/40 saves while stopping 2.88 goals above expected. He was also 12/13 on high-danger shots, so there's not much to gripe about with his performance.
The Devils acquired Markström for games like this, and though he's been a bit inconsistent, he's shown up and made a difference when the spotlight is on him. Had he not made some timely saves when the Rangers were still within striking distance at 2-0, they could have fought their way back into the game.
The Hughes Show at MSG
It's fun to watch Jack and Luke Hughes when both are on their games. That's been the case more often than not lately, but there was some special hockey on display from the Hughes brothers yesterday.
Luke was the first to make an impact in the first period. He intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, then started the rush, helping the Devils gain the offensive zone cleanly.
After getting the puck to Mercer, he fed it back to Hughes at the point, who fired a hard shot that got blocked. Mercer picked up the rebound and skated to an open area in the high slot. He then fired a shot that Igor Shesterkin should have stopped.
Luke has had trouble getting his shot through traffic before, but that wasn't a problem yesterday. On Jack's first goal, he got a shot through traffic to Shesterkin, who left a juicy rebound for Jack to clean up.
It was a two-point night for Luke, who finished with a 59.76 expected goals share (xG%). The Devils are creating plenty of offense when he's on the ice, and he's now up to six points in his last six games.
As for Jack, multi-point games are becoming a regularity. He was all over the ice right from the get-go. He had a breakaway in the first period where he tried to pull the Forsberg, but Shesterkin stuck with him and made the save. Had he connected, I'm sure that would have been all over Instagram. But there were plenty of other Instagram-worthy highlights from Hughes.
Though the cross-ice pass was an accident, he set up Dougie Hamilton for a crucial five-on-three goal to give the Devils a 3-0 lead. That more or less seemed to break the Rangers' will, as they were playing better before that sequence.
Hughes then effectively ended the game when he scored on the power play to give the Devils a 5-1 lead. He finished with a team-high eight shots on goal, nine scoring chances and five high-danger chances at all strengths. The Devils will be very difficult to beat when both Hughes brothers play like this.
Don't Forget About Bratt, Too
Perhaps lost in the Hughes brothers and Markstrom's performances was that Bratt finished with four points (one goal and three assists). Though two of those assists were secondary, Bratt still had a big say in the ensuing goals.
That was particularly true on Jack Hughes' goal that made it 4-0. Bratt made a good read in the neutral zone and intercepted a pass, then flung a cross-ice pass to Brett Pesce, who dumped the puck in. Bratt then won the puck retrieval on Pesce's dump-in. The puck eventually ended up on Luke's stick, and the rest was history.
One area where Bratt has really improved this season is on plays like that, where he wins puck retrievals on dump-ins. The encouraging part is that it's not coming at the expense of what he already does well. His goal was all off the rush, and he's still creating a ton off the rush this season.
With the four-point game, Bratt has 11 points in his last seven games and is up to 35 points in 28 games — a 103-point pace over 82 games. He and Jack Hughes could be in a race to become the Devils' first single-season 100-point scorer in franchise history.
Quick Hits
As The Fisherman mentioned on this week's Stat Attack, the Devils rank first in special teams goals for percentage (GF%). Though they gave up a power-play goal, their penalty kill was still solid, especially in the first when Pesce blocked three shots during a grueling shift. The Devils added two power-play goals, raising their success rate to 34.5 percent on the season. Between their improving five-on-five play and special teams, they have the goods to beat plenty of teams.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald would like to add some fourth-line help. But at least for yesterday, the new-look fourth line of Mike Hardman, Justin Dowling and Nathan Légaré fared well; all three players finished with xG percentages above 70 percent. They were hard on the forecheck and forced the Rangers into mistakes. Any scoring is a bonus, but the Devils will be fine if they can play like that consistently.
Devils Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
Any cliff notes from that Athletic article?