Rangers use fast start to defeat Devils for third straight win

NEWARK, N.J. --The New York Rangers scored three goals in the first period and won their third straight game, 6-3 against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Ryan Strome scored twice, and Adam Fox and Filip Chytil each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (10-9-3). Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves for New York, which was without goalie Igor Shesterkin because of a groin strain.
"If you're going to have a chance (to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs), you've got to string together wins," New York coach David Quinn said. "You've got to go on some sort of streak and some sort of run. And we really hadn't done that up to this point. You want to continue to gain momentum and move forward."
New York played the second of a six-game road trip; it won 6-1 here Thursday.
Nathan Bastian had a goal and an assist, and Mackenzie Blackwood allowed five goals on 27 shots for the Devils (7-11-2), who have lost five straight and nine consecutive home games.
"We probably played our worst defensive game of the year," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "Guys skated by us in the neutral zone, they skated by us exiting the offensive zone. … I'm embarrassed how badly we passed the puck tonight and some of the puck decisions we made. I'm just flat-out embarrassed."
Fox gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal off an end-to-end rush, scoring on a wrist shot from the slot 2:06 into the first period. It was his fourth point in his past three games (one goal, three assists). Strome made it 2-0 on a snap shot at the left post at 7:15.
P.K. Subban and Mikhail Maltsev scored in a span of 17 seconds to tie the game. Subban scored his first goal in eight games on a slap shot from the right point at 14:54 to make it 2-1, and Maltsev scored on a backhand at the right post at 15:11 to make it 2-2.
"Regardless of whether it's at home or on the road, we've got to play the right way and do that consistently," Subban said. "We've got a big road trip coming up (beginning at the Boston Bruins on Sunday), some really good teams that are playing well right now. At the start of the season, whenever we played better teams, we elevated our game, so that's what we're looking to do right now.
"We're in control of that, how hard we work, and we have to bring maximum effort for this road trip to have success."

Kevin Rooney, who signed with the Rangers this offseason after four seasons with the Devils, made it 3-2 on a 2-on-1 with Chytil at 17:06.
"Just to get one by [Blackwood] was pretty cool; I was his teammate for four years," Rooney said. "We kind of came up together through [the American Hockey League]. He's a really special goalie; to get one on him was great."

Libor Hajek
scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot from the point at 1:05 of the second period for a 4-2 lead. Chytil made is 5-2 on a backhand from the slot at 8:38 of the third period. Bastian scored at 17:48 to pull the Devils within 5-3.
"I know some guys are discouraged because we've lost the amount we've lost," Ruff said. "But you've got to dig in. … You have to find a way to make a difference."
Strome scored into an empty net at 18:47 for the 6-3 final.
"Today was a pretty solid effort," Strome said. "I think all-around, we've got to be pretty pleased with the contributions of everyone."
NOTES:Shesterkin and defenseman Jacob Trouba (thumb) will travel with the Rangers for their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. ... New York forward Kaapo Kakko had an assist and two shots on goal in 17:56 of ice time in his return to the lineup after missing six games (four because of NHL COVID-19 protocol). ... Buchnevich has scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past nine games. … The Devils tied their longest home losing streak; they also lost nine straight from Dec. 22, 1985-Feb. 6, 1986.