NEW YORK _ Everyone always knew Tony DeAngelo had the skill to do some amazing things inside a hockey rink, but what he did against the Devils at Madison Square Garden Thursday night might have been bigger than anything anyone might have imagined possible.
The slick-skating 24-year-old became the first Rangers defenseman to score a hat trick in more than 37 years, and also had two assists. He became the second defenseman in franchise history to record five points in a game. The other Rangers defenseman to accomplish that? Brian Leetch, who did it twice.
DeAngelo's monster night powered the Rangers to a 6-3 victory over the rival Devils, and it gave the newest Ranger, goaltender Igor Shesterkin, his second NHL victory in his second start. Shesterkin, also 24, made 46 saves. He stopped all 18 shots he faced in the third period.
DeAngelo started his big night early, sending a feed from behind the Devils' net to Artemi Panarin, who one-timed it past goalie MacKenzie Blackwood for his team-leading 24th goal at 5:42 of the first period. The Devils tied it shortly afterward, however, on a short-handed goal by Kevin Rooney, after Rooney beat DeAngelo to the rebound of a Pavel Zacha shot and jammed it in under Shesterkin for his first goal of the season, at 8:06.
But seven seconds after that same power play expired, DeAngelo scored his first goal by converting a one-timer off a pass from Mika Zibanejad that seemed to float over Blackwood into the upper-right corner to make it 2-1 at 9:47. DeAngelo then set up a power-play goal by Chris Kreider at 12:16 of the period, when he fired a slap pass from deep in his own end to Brett Howden at center ice. The puck got by Howden and went off the back boards in the Devils' zone. It might have been icing, had not Kreider beat everyone to the puck. All alone against Blackwood, Kreider went to his backhand and scored his 14th goal.
But the Devils tied the score, 3-3, on two goals by Blake Coleman. First, Coleman deflected in a shot by Damon Severson at 18:10 of the first period. Then, at 8:56 of the second, Coleman, doing battle with Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba in front of the net, got credit for his 15th goal when Trouba inadvertently kicked the puck past Shesterkin and in. The officials didn't immediately recognize that a goal had been scored, as Trouba shoved Coleman into the goalpost and knocked the net off its supports. But during the ensuing commercial break, the play was reviewed and it was determined that the puck crossed the goal line.
That's when DeAngelo took over. He beat Blackwood with a perfectly placed wrist shot into the upper corner through traffic to put the Rangers back in front 4-3 at 12:08 of the second period, and added a power-play goal at 15:02. The goal was his 11th of the season, in the 43rd game, and chased Blackwood in favor of Louis Domingue.
Jesper Fast added a goal in the third period to make it 6-3.
