Devils, Islanders, Rangers tripleheader provides hockey dream day for NHL.com’s Rosen

Editor’s note: The New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and New York Rangers were all home Saturday and all played at different times. The Vancouver Canucks even practiced in New Jersey while the Devils were playing the Anaheim Ducks. NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen took advantage of the schedule to see all seven teams in action and chronicles his day here.

NEWARK, N.J. -- ELMONT, N.Y. -- NEW YORK -- Three games. Seven teams. All in one day's work.

It's a busy Saturday of NHL hockey here in the tri-state area with the Devils, Islanders and Rangers all playing home games.

The beauty of it is they are staggered start times; Devils against the Anaheim Ducks at Prudential Center at 12:30 p.m. ET, Islanders against the Tampa Bay Lightning at UBS Arena at 3:30, and the Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden at 7.

It's the second time all three local teams here have played home games on the same day with staggered start times, according to NHL Stats. It also happened March 22, when the Rangers were at home at 1, the Islanders at 4 and the Devils at 7.

But adding to this day is the fact that the Canucks are in town and they have a practice scheduled for 1:30 on the Devils practice ice at Prudential Center.

The Canucks, of course, are in the news after trading defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild on Friday for forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Rossi, Buium and Ohgren are supposed to skate with the Canucks for the first time Saturday.

So, there's a lot going on, and I've taken on the mission to try to catch it all, or at least as much as I possibly can considering it's not all that easy to get from Newark to Elmont to Manhattan for three games in a span of about nine hours.

But challenge accepted, so follow along with me as I navigate my way around the tri-state area for a full afternoon and evening of NHL hockey.

10:35 a.m. ET

The front door to my house has closed behind me and it's time to get into the car and drive to Prudential Center.

It's 16 miles door-to-door. Doing this whole day by train was an option, but it's a weekend schedule and there's no guarantees it would work.

So, the tank is full, the EZ Pass is attached to the windshield, and away we go.

11:10 a.m. ET

Thirty-five minutes from my house to the parking lot at Prudential Center. Along the way I had a chat with Dan Graca on ESPN New York Radio 880 AM about the logistics of the day, the Devils' struggles without Jack Hughes, the Rangers' inconsistencies, the Canucks' trade and the Islanders' success.

Once inside, chatted a bit with NHL.com senior draft writer Mike M. Morreale and Matt Loughlin, the Devils' longtime radio broadcaster.

For about 10 minutes we talked about the Devils' injuries, which just keep getting worse.

Simon Nemec was hurt in practice Friday and is out with an undisclosed injury. It doesn't sound good. Arseny Gritsyuk (upper body) is also out. We already knew about Jack Hughes (finger), Brett Pesce (hand), Johnathan Kovacevic (knee) and Evgenii Dadonov (wrist).

Timo Meier is not here, having left the team for personal/family reasons.

The Devils have fallen below the playoff line in the Eastern Conference, entering Saturday 5-9-0 in 14 games without Hughes since Nov. 15.

We also, of course, talked about the Quinn Hughes trade to the Wild, and the fact that the Canucks are practicing here.

The consensus: The Devils know there's still a chance for them to get Quinn Hughes at some point, but clearly they were not prepared to go the distance that the Wild went in sending the Canucks Rossi, Buium, Ohgren and a first-round pick.

But the way things are going for the Devils, something has to change. Maybe that happens today.

The Ducks and Devils are on the ice for warmups, coming out at noon ET. Jake Allen gets the start this afternoon opposite Lukas Dostal in Anaheim's net.

12:38 p.m. ET

Ten minutes ago, I was down in the media room here at Prudential Center talking with P.K. Subban, who will also be taking in all three NHL games in the area as part of a project he's doing with NHL Studios. He had a camera crew with him and will be traveling by Sprinter van.

Subban, the former Devils defenseman, said he's excited to see the Ducks live, especially Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke. He said he hasn't seen them live in person yet so he wants to see what all the excitement is about.

Subban also said he's looking forward to seeing Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer live in person for the first time. He said he skated with the rookie in Los Angeles before the 2025 NHL Draft, but he hasn't been in the building to see him play yet.

"It's a young man's league," Subban said. "There's no denying it now."

Along those lines, it's Devils Youth Foundation Day, and as part of it the Devils Youth Foundation will be donating $60,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Newark to support The READY Family Wellness Center and Clinic. The Foundation is also donating $50,000 to the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, an RWJBarnbas Health facility, for their KidsFit in Motion programming.

Nico Hischier won the opening face-off against McTavish.

Let the games begin.

1:17 p.m. ET

The first goal of the day belongs to Ducks forward Troy Terry, his 10th of the season at 13:18 of the first period.

Leo Carlsson took an offensive zone turnover by the Devils, looked up and found Terry across the ice at the far blue line. He got behind New Jersey defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, went in alone on Jake Allen and scored with a high glove-side shot.

The Devils tied it 1-1 at 16:09 thanks to a solo rush by Juho Lammikko. He got the puck from Jesper Bratt, turned on the jets down the right side, went through the right face-off circle toward the post and dropped a backhanded pass in front to Stefan Noesen, who slammed it in.

A few minutes before Terry scored, the DJ here played Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" during a quick stoppage with 9:55 remaining in the period. Twelve-year-old Dan was excited.

The Devils killed Dougie Hamilton's high sticking penalty at 16:22 and first period ends 1-1.

It's time to go to see the Canucks, but on my way down I stop quickly to chat with Ducks television broadcasters John Ahlers and Brian Hayward. Ahlers tells me they're enjoying this season, especially with how run-and-gun the Ducks are and how much fun they are to watch.

Hayward tells a quick story that the other night, when the Islanders defeated the Ducks 5-2 at UBS Arena, Islanders coach Patrick Roy told him that Anaheim is really good at creating offense on both ends of the ice.

2 p.m. ET

The Canucks are here and on the ice on the practice rink about 300 or so feet away from the game rink. Buium, Rossi and Ohgren are on the ice.

Buium and Rossi are with Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland on the first power-play unit. I also was told the Canucks found out about the trade after landing here Friday. They were on the team bus to their hotel in downtown Manhattan when they learned of it.

Ironically, Quinn Hughes was not on the bus as he was going to visit with family after landing. He stayed with family Friday night and is flying to Minnesota today.

NHL.com director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke is on the scene to cover the Canucks here today.

The Devils grabbed a 2-1 lead while I was at Canucks practice. Paul Cotter scored at 5:52 of the second period. Lammikko had the primary assist, his second of the game. Noesen also had an assist to give him two points.

As I'm now thinking of leaving, Cody Glass scores to give New Jersey a 3-1 lead with 2:56 remaining in the second period.

The GPS is telling me it's going to take an hour and 20 minutes to get from here to UBS Arena. The Islanders and Lightning are scheduled to get started at 3:30. Before the game, Pat Lafontaine is being honored and inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame.

I'm out of here at the intermission so I can time it right and get to UBS Arena during the first period, maybe catch a second opening face-off.

4:10 p.m. ET

An hour and 19 minutes later, here I am at UBS Arena. Not bad considering the ride is across two rivers and featuring a quick jaunt through Queens Village to avoid some traffic on the Cross Island Parkway.

Got here just in time to hear Lafontaine finishing up his speech as I was getting on the elevator to go up to the press box.

After a quick conversation with Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois about seeing three games in the same day -- "Hey, when you're here, you can do it," he said -- I am in my seat, No. 25 on press row, in time for the national anthem and, yes, opening face-off.

A couple of quick penalties and, bang, Schaefer gets the Islanders on the board with a 4-on-3 power-play goal at 3:05 of the first period.

It started with a good set play up top with Mathew Barzal, who crossed with Schaefer and then got the puck to the defenseman at the left point. Scahefer sent it low to Anthony Duclair in the left face-off circle and got it right back for a one-timer past Jonas Johansson.

During the 79-minute ride from Newark to Elmont, I was able to listen to the third period of the Devils-Ducks game, hearing Loughlin and Chico Resch on the Devils Radio Network.

I heard them call Connor Brown's empty-net goal that capped New Jersey's 4-1 win, so in that game I was able to see three of the five goals in person. Remember, I was watching the Canucks practice when Cotter scored to give the Devils a 2-1 lead in the second period.

There's already one in the books here at UBS Arena.

4:40 p.m. ET

The Islanders executives, including general manager Mathieu Darche and special assistant to the GM Matt Martin, are sitting in the box behind me in the press box. It's interesting to hear them as the game goes on.

The puck went to Ryan Pulock at the right point and I heard Darche say, "Pound it, pound it." Pulock didn't and the puck squirted by him and out of the zone.

Later in the period I could hear Darche saying, "Our two youngest players scored our goals." And every time the Islanders have even the slightest chance to get the puck out of the zone, Darche regularly says, "Get out, get out, get out."

He's right about the goals. Schaefer, who is 18, gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with his 4-on-3 power-play goal at 3:05 of the first period, his ninth goal of the season. Calum Ritchie, who is 19, made it 2-0 at 10:16 with his fourth goal.

The Islanders lead 2-0 after 20 minutes at UBS Arena. They look sharp, as they have for a while now. They entered this game winners of two straight and five of six, sitting third in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Washington Capitals.

5:05 p.m. ET

The second period is under way and Lafontaine is still answering questions and telling stories to the media up here in the press box.

It's hard to stop Lafontaine when he gets going on Al Arbour, his former Islanders teammates, his time spent on Long Island and, now, apparently, the current team too.

He said he didn't get a chance in his speech during the ceremony to talk about his feelings toward the current team, so he was happy he got that chance in front of the media.

"What I like is I'm seeing speed again," he said.

Lafontaine is blown away by Schaefer, using the words "generational talent." He said Schaefer texted him to congratulate him on the Islanders' Hall of Fame honor.

The Islanders have a number of alumni in this weekend from all different eras of the franchise, including legends like Butch Goring, Bob Nystrom, John Tonelli, Billy Smith and Bryan Trottier.

"What you want is an exciting team; they are an exciting team," Lafontaine said. "It feels like the old guys are really getting excited about what we are seeing and what we are feeling."

Checking the GPS to be sure, it's telling me that it'll take me another hour and 20 minutes to get from here to Madison Square Garden, or at least the parking garage on 31st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

With the hope of seeing a third opening face-off, it looks like I'll watch the rest of the second period and then I'm gone.

5:40 p.m.

It's a 2-1 game here at UBS Arena after 40 minutes.

Darren Raddysh got the Lightning on the board with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 10:14 of the second period. Tampa Bay was outshooting the Islanders 8-0 when he scored. It also killed Brandon Hagel's penalty for abuse of officials at the 20-minute mark of the first period.

Overall, penalties hurt the Islanders in the second. They were guilty of four, including a too many men on the ice penalty that took away the last 38 seconds of their period-opening power play.

The Lightning peppered Ilya Sorokin with 17 shots in the second; the Islanders had one.

By the way, actress Reese Witherspoon is here for the Islanders-Lightning game. My wife is a huge fan.

As tempting as it is to stay for the third in what has been an entertaining game, if I want to at least attempt to get to Madison Square Garden for opening face-off, it's time to hit the road.

Four periods and five teams in the books on this hockey Saturday. Two more teams and hopefully three more periods to go.

7:40 p.m.

It took a little longer than expected, 90 minutes from parking lot to parking garage thanks to horrendous crosstown traffic, but I made it to Madison Square Garden just in time to see the opening face-off between Nick Suzuki and Vincent Trocheck.

Trocheck won it, by the way.

I didn't think I was going to make it inside in time to see my third opening face-off of the day, but I had two things going for me:

1) The Rangers had a pregame ceremony as part of their ongoing centennial celebration with Hall of Fame former broadcaster Sam Rosen. So that bought me some time.

2) It's Montreal in town, so it's a double anthem night at MSG, and that bought me some more time.

I got up to the 9th floor, press box level on the bridge, just in time to see Trocheck and Suzuki coming together for the face-off.

So now it's officially seven teams in one day.

On my way from UBS Arena to Madison Square Garden, I was able to listen to Alan Fuehring on Islanders radio calling the third period with guest analyst Mick Vukota, who was in town as part of the Islanders' alumni weekend.

I did miss a goal, as J.J. Moser scored at 3:20 of the third period to tie the game 2-2. And I heard Fuehring call the shootout, won on Emil Heineman's goal to give the Islanders a 3-2 win.

So, not counting the shootout, I have seen six out of a possible nine goals in person in the first two games.

The Rangers and Canadiens are scoreless through 10 minutes with Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Fowler in the nets. New York, by the way, is wearing its Centennial jerseys and hoping not to fall to 0-6 in those threads.

8:05 p.m.

The scoreless game didn't last much longer.

The Canadiens grabbed a 1-0 lead on Zack Bolduc's goal at 12:41 on their first shot on goal of the game. Shesterkin isn't going to like that .000 save percentage.

It got worse for the Rangers and their star goalie because the Canadiens went 2-for-2 at 14:10, when Arber Xhekaj scored with a wrister from the above the left face-off circle.

Two shots, two goals.

The Canadiens struck again at 16:18 to go up 3-0 on Jake Evans' quick and hard wrist shot from the left circle. That was their seventh shot on goal.

Terrific start for the road team. But, alas, the Rangers home woes, and their struggles in the Centennial jerseys continue.

But maybe there is hope. Vladislav Gavrikov's elite backcheck stops Evans on a short-handed breakaway, and seconds later Noah Laba scores off his own rebound on the power play to make it 3-1 at 18:49.

And now Artemi Panarin is awarded a penalty shot at 19:08 as he was nearly tackled from behind on a breakaway by Noah Dobson. Panarin patiently came in and scored to tie it up 3-2.

So the Canadiens got two goals on their first two shots and a third on their seventh shot. And the Rangers responded with a power-play goal and a penalty-shot goal just 19 seconds apart.

It's 3-2 after 20 minutes and it's certainly not a boring one here at the Garden.

But now that the period is over, it's time to go on NHL Network. I was supposed to be on at 7, but I was still in the car, so obviously that wasn't going to work. Instead, it's a first intermission hit with Steve Gelbs, Mike Johnson and Dave Reid to go over my day so far.

Fun stuff.

Then it's dinner time. My lunch consisted of half of a chocolate chip cookie and half of a soft pretzel at UBS Arena. These are the sacrifices you make when you're trying to attend three games in the same day.

9 p.m.

The chicken parm panini eventually did the trick, but just as I finished my first bite the Canadiens scored again, with Josh Anderson hammering in a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Lane Hutson to give Montreal a 4-2 lead at 3:17 of the second.

I have already seen as many goals tonight (six) as I did in the first two games combined.

Add one more at 7:22. Will Cuylle, from behind the goal line to the right of the cage, cuts Montreal's lead to 4-3 by banking the puck in off of Fowler, the puck crossing the goal line just before the goalie got run over by Laba and Brett Berard.

And 36 seconds later it's 4-4. J.T. Miller scores off a rebound with Fowler just leaving the puck in the slot at 7:58. That's a rough 36 seconds for the Canadiens rookie playing in his second NHL game.

Eight goals in less than 38 minutes. Great energy inside Madison Square Garden. What a game.

As the second period is coming to an end I can hear Kenny Albert behind me calling this "an entertaining hockey game."

One of the great things about sitting where I am in the press box at MSG is I can hear Albert calling the game. It's like having your own personal broadcaster, even though I know he's doing it for MSG Networks.

It's 4-4 after 40 here at MSG. I've now seen six periods live today. One more, and maybe even an overtime, to go.

10 p.m.

As I begin to type this, the third period is four minutes old and it feels like all of a sudden this is a tighter checking game. We just saw eight goals in a span of 15:17 between the first and second periods, and now even getting a shot on goal is a challenge.

But that's to be expected in a 4-4 game.

The Garden crowd is into it. I saw Subban before the start of the period, so his tour around the tri-state area is going well, though the NHL Studios producer with him, Jason Hollis, was shocked that I was able to be in the building for all three opening face-offs.

Hey, I know my way around.

The Rangers think they have a goal at 5:51, but it's clear that Sam Carrick kicked the puck into the net, distinct kicking motion, if you will, so it's a no-goal and the Canadiens and Rangers play on with the game still tied 4-4.

There's 8:28 remaining. It's a TV timeout. Dancing Larry is doing his thing. It's still a thing.

Overtime. The second one today, though in fairness I missed OT at UBS Arena because I had to leave after the second period.

This one lasts 2:56. That's when Miller smashes a one-timer past Fowler for a 4-on-3 overtime power-play goal (Evans was in the box for slashing Panarin at 2:29). Credit to Trocheck for winning two offensive zone face-offs on the power play too.

So in the end all three New York/New Jersey local teams are winners today.

10:35 p.m.

Just got out of the Rangers' dressing room, where I made a quick mention to Miller about my journey, hitting up three games and being able to see the opening face-off in all three.

"That's a full day," the Rangers' OT goal scorer said to me.

Three games and a practice, seven teams in total, in the building for seven periods and an overtime, and witness to 15 goals.

A full day indeed.