"It takes a lot of hard work from the guys you're playing with, a willingness to get pucks there [to the net front]," Kreider said. "Those guys are doing the work, doing an incredible job. I've just been trying to stick around the front of the net and obviously it's working for us right now."
Igor Shesterkin made 32 saves before he sustained a lower-body injury challenging a shot with 5:52 left in the third period for the Rangers (9-9-3). Alexandar Georgiev made three saves in relief.
The teams play again here Saturday.
Aaron Dell allowed two goals on four shots in 16:03 in relief of Mackenzie Blackwood, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots for the Devils (7-10-2). New Jersey has lost four straight and seven of eight.
"I didn't think [Blackwood] was seeing it ... I thought he was fighting it, so I just thought I could maybe try to spark a little bit [of] momentum," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've talked about we need to score. We got some tips, we had some net-front presence, we threw more pucks there. We had a lot of Grade A chances that if you don't find the back of the net and you don't get a team down, stuff like tonight can happen."
It was Kreider's fourth NHL hat trick. The forward, who scored three goals in a 4-3 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 24, has scored 10 points (nine goals, one assist) in his past six games.
"When you're scoring at the rate he is, it means an awful lot for a team that has struggled to score goals," New York coach David Quinn said. "He's certainly always doing the right thing. He's reiterating all the things we're trying to get our team to do. The leadership opportunities this year are greater than they have been in the past, so he's taking advantage of that."
Kreider scored a power-play goal at 8:28 of the second period for a 1-1 tie, on a deflection from the slot for a 2-1 lead at 13:57, and completed his natural hat trick on a snap shot from the slot 23 seconds into the third period for a 3-1 lead.
