Rangers defeat Devils, extend winning streak to 9

NEWARK, N.J. -- Igor Shesterkin made 39 saves to help the New York Rangers win their ninth straight game, 5-1 against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Alexis Lafrenière scored two goals, Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist, and Artemi Panarin had three assists for the Rangers (38-16-3), who have outscored their opponents 39-18 during their winning streak.

"When we're at our best, we're playing with speed and physicality," New York captain Jacob Trouba said. "I think when we slow the game down and kind of try to go east-west too much, we're getting on our toes and we're playing physical, playing hard. It's really not fun to play against us because we have the guys who can put the puck in the net, too."

Jack Hughes scored, and Nico Daws made 13 saves in his sixth straight start for the Devils (28-24-4), who have lost three of their past four.

"We just got to regroup," Hughes said. "We got to digest tonight and then wrap our heads around changing our attitude and really believing in ourselves and not just talking about it, but actually doing that."

New Jersey went 0-for-5 on the power play, including a five-minute man-advantage in the first period and a four-minute double-minor in the second period. 

"It's frustrating for everyone, for the players out there, players who are not on the ice. We just need to find a way to score," Devils captain Nico Hischier said. "We need to execute better, and sometimes we can take more shots and get more traffic in front of the net."

Mika Zibanejad gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 9:14 of the first period. He faked a slap shot in the left circle and tried to send a backdoor pass to Chris Kreider, but the attempt deflected off the stick of Devils forward Dawson Mercer back to Zibanejad, who swatted the puck five-hole on Daws.

"It was a lot of special teams out there, and I thought the penalty kill did an unbelievable job," Zibanejad said. "It's a team that can score. I thought we didn't give them much. Maybe in the third a little bit, but overall I thought we did a really good job, and [Shesterkin] played great."

Lafreniere made it 2-0 at 17:56 with a wrist shot from the right hash marks following a turnover by Luke Hughes.

Shesterkin was arguably at his best during the first period, when he made 16 saves, including five during a five-minute power play after Rangers forward Matt Rempe was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head on Nathan Bastian at 2:25.

"The 'PK' was confident tonight, and the kills were good," New York coach Peter Laviolette said. "We attacked everything that was a loose puck and really limited the opposition. It was a total group effort and our guys were pretty physical."

Kreider pushed it to 3-0 at 9:53 of the second period on a 2-on-1 with Panarin. Shesterkin started the rush by sending an outlet pass to Panarin in the neutral zone, catching the Devils on a bad line change.

Lafreniere made it 4-0 at 19:20. He took a pass from Trocheck as he split the defense before lifting a forehand over Daws' glove.

Trocheck extended the lead to 5-0 at 14:29 of the third period, one-timing a pass from Panarin on a 2-on-1.

"We got outshot by a lot, and usually we're saying the other thing," Trouba said. "I thought from the start of the game we were on our toes and playing hard and playing fast. I think that's the recipe we want to play."

Hughes scored on a snap shot from the slot at 17:53 for the 5-1 final.

Hughes, who led all players with 10 shots on goal, has six points (three goals, three assists) and is minus-2 in eight games since returning from an upper-body injury on Feb. 8.

"I'm obviously not playing my best, but I got to find a way to get to that point and help us make a push," Hughes said.

NOTES: The Rangers' winning streak is tied for the third-longest in their history. Their longest is 10 games, which they have accomplished twice (1972-73, 1939-40). ... Panarin had his 22nd three-assist game with the Rangers, passing Mark Messier for the fourth-most in franchise history. ... New Jersey is 2-for-46 on the power play (4.3 percent) in its past 14 games.