NEWARK, N.J. – As bad as things have been for the Devils this season, they got worse Tuesday when the team announced, after the first period of its game at Prudential Center against the Rangers, that its 20-year-old star center, Jack Hughes, was done for the season after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee in Sunday’s game against the Islanders.
But the Rangers didn’t have time to feel sorry for their Hudson River rivals. They have a playoff spot to nail down, and beating the Devils, 3-1, got them two points closer to taking care of that.
Ryan Strome returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower body injury and scored a goal for the Blueshirts, and Chris Kreider continued his dream season by scoring his 25th power-play goal of the season, breaking the team record. The goal, Kreider’s 47th of the season, also happened to be the game-winner, which was Kreider’s 10th of the season and also broke a team record.
And defenseman Justin Braun, playing just his third game for the Rangers since being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers at the March 21 trade deadline, chipped in a goal as well, his first with the Rangers.
Finally, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, starting in place of Igor Shesterkin, shook off an early goal by Yegor Sharangovich to play a solid game, posting 20 saves to earn his third consecutive victory.
The Rangers (45-20-6) lowered their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to six points, pending the result of the Islanders’ game in Dallas. They also increased their lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins to four points in the battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers and Penguins will face each other for the final time during the regular season on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
The Devils led early in the game after Sharangovich knocked down Jacob Trouba’s pass in the neutral zone and went in on a breakaway. Sharangovich scored on a backhand, his 20th goal of the season, to make it 1-0 at 6:56.
But the momentum shifted when Braden Schneider, back in the lineup after being scratched in Sunday’s shootout loss to Philadelphia, hammered Devils forward Jesper Boqvist with a clean check in the neutral zone, in front of the Devils bench. Sharangovich took umbrage, and immediately attacked Schneider, who was more than ready to defend himself.
Schneider pummeled Sharangovich in the ensuing fight, and to make matters worse for the Devils, Sharangovich was given an instigator penalty, which gave the Rangers a power play. He also apparently suffered some sort of injury in the battle. He left for the locker room and did not return.
Strome then scored the Rangers’ first power-play goal in three games to tie it 1 at 11:07. The goal was Strome’s 16th and came after the Rangers had gone 0-for-3 with the man advantage in their two previous games.
They took the lead on their next power play, when Kreider, stationed at the right wing goal post, deflected in a shot from Artemi Panarin (two assists) at 17:57. The goal broke the team record of 24 power-play goals, set by Jaromir Jagr in the 2005-06 season.
The Devils, who were already down Hughes and Sharangovich, also lost forward Jimmy Vesey, the former Ranger, midway through the second period, when he apparently injured himself while attempting to body check Schneider into the end boards. Vesey crumpled to the ice and remained down for several moments, until the officials stopped play and he was helped to the locker room. The Devils finished the game with 10 forwards.
