Jack Hughes has 3 points, powers Devils past Rangers for 3rd straight win

NEW YORK -- Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists for the New Jersey Devils in a 6-3 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Connor Brown also had a goal and two assists, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Markstrom made 15 saves for the Devils (35-31-2), who are 7-2-0 in their past nine games. 

"We pushed back, so it was good, and anytime you score six, it's a good night," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We haven't had enough of those."

Hughes has a point in 14 consecutive games against the Rangers dating back to March 22, 2022. He has recorded 28 points during that stretch (17 goals, 11 assists).

"I mean, playing here is always fun," Hughes said. "Coming to the Garden. ... Just unreal atmosphere, unreal rink, unreal fans. And there were a lot of Devils fans tonight, so it's always fun coming here and playing."

Mika Zibanejad, Vladislav Gavrikov and Conor Sheary each scored, while Jonathan Quick made 33 saves for the Rangers (28-32-8), who have lost two straight after four wins in a row.

"We weren't good enough all night long," New York coach Mike Sullivan said. "We pushed in the third period, but it's hard to win games when you only play a period."

Gavrikov gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 15:20 of the first period on a snap shot through a heavy screen from the point.

Hischier responded with a power-play goal to tie it 1-1, showing good hand-eye coordination by bunting the puck into the net at the right post at 16:14.

Arseny Gritsyuk scored on a snap shot from the left face-off circle to give the Devils a 2-1 lead with 44 seconds remaining in the first period.

Just 19 seconds into the second period, Zibanejad evened it 2-2. Gabe Perreault stripped Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton of the puck in the offensive zone, giving it to Zibanejad for a 1-on-1 with Markstrom and beating him glove side.

"I think in the first 40 minutes, there wasn't a lot to like there," Rangers captain J.T. Miller said. "A credit to the Devils. They came out with a lot of pace and tempo, and we gave some of their players too much time and space. I just thought we weren't as physical as we have been. When Hughes and Bratt are on the move and you're not in their way, it's tough."

Brown gave New Jersey a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal at 11:36, finishing a pass from Hughes in the slot. 

"I think we're sticking to our game plan," Brown said. "I thought we played a really good game. They got a couple bounces and got back in it, but I thought we did a really good job of breaking free from that and just playing our game."

Timo Meier pushed it to 4-2 when he spun in the right circle and swept in a rebound of Paul Cotter's shot past Quick's snow angel at 6:29 of the third period.

Sheary pulled the Rangers within 4-3 at 9:41, putting the rebound of Matthew Robertson's shot from inside the blue line past Markstrom in front.

Hughes scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 13:05 for a 5-3 lead before Bratt scored on a snap shot from the left circle at 16:22 for the 6-3 final. 

"I had so many looks tonight. ... I had breakaways, 2-on-1's, and that goal was more for me," Hughes said. "I wanted that one. I wanted that for my team because I had so many good looks. The building was starting to rock when they scored that third goal and it's a crazy crowd. But it was nice for us to turn around and kind of settle the game back down."

Hughes has 35 points (20 goals, 15 assists) in 25 career games against the Rangers. Bratt's two points gives him 501 points (166 goals, 335 assists) in 620 NHL games. 

"That's good (for Bratt)," Keefe said. "It's great to see him shooting pucks in the net. He's been playing so well on that line (with Hughes and Brown). It's was a good night."

NOTES: Hughes has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in his past 11 games and since returning from the 2026 Winter Olympics. ... Hischier scored his 195th career goal to pass Zach Parise (194) for the fifth most in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history. ... New Jersey is 5-0-1 in its past six regular season games against the Rangers. ... Bratt is the fifth player to score 500 points for the Devils (Patrik Elias, John MacLean, Travis Zajac, Kirk Muller). ... Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen (upper body) didn't return after the first period, and forward Noah Laba (lower body) didn't return after the second period. Sullivan did not have an update on either after the game.