Early Saturday afternoon, the New York Rangers made the 11-mile trek to the Prudential Center in a must-win against their rival New Jersey Devils. But for the third time in four contests between them, the Devils took two regulation points in a spirited 4-0 win. Jacob Markstrom stopped all 26 shots for his 26th victory of the season.
They improve to 41-29-7; the Rangers fall to 36-33-7. According to MoneyPuck, the Devils have a 99.99% chance to make the playoffs – their highest to date.
The Devils mostly controlled the pace of play in the first, as they ended the frame with an 7-4 shots advantage but nothing to show for it. Play evened out in the second and special teams put the Devils ahead. First, Timo Meier ripped a one-timer on a power play to make it 1-0. Then the Rangers got a man advantage of their own, but Jesper Bratt scored shorthanded to make it 2-0.
BrattGPT, show me a filthy goal. pic.twitter.com/GeZ671NA2d
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 5, 2025
Then the Devils did what they’ve done all season, meaning stifling the opposition in the third. Nico Hischier added an empty netter, his 35th of the season, to seal the deal. They improved to 33-1-2 when leading after two.
After the game, Markstrom told The Hockey Writers, “(The crowd) is amazing. It has been all year, and you know, I really feel the support. Our team feels the support. So, it’s huge. You know, we’re going to need it every night going forward here.”
The Devils will remain home to face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7:00 PM ET); the Rangers will head back to Madison Square Garden to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday (7:00 PM ET).
