Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 4-2 preseason win over the New York Rangers on Friday night.
Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, centred a line with Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. It was Hall’s first game since December after he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
The 18-year-old Hughes opened the scoring with a breakaway goal 34 seconds into the game. He also set up Hall’s power-play goal 11:55 into the first period.
New Jersey’s presumptive top line of Hall, Hughes and Palmieri finished with two goals and three assists.
Blake Coleman and Michael McLeod also scored for New Jersey, and Mackenzie Blackwood had 21 saves.
Vladislav Namestnikov and Brett Howden scored for New York in Newark, New Jersey. In his first game of the preseason, Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves on 24 shots before being replaced by Adam Huska, who finished with 15 saves.
Bolts Top Predators
In Tampa Bay, reigning NHL MVP Nikita Kucherov scored two third-period goals to lead the Lightning to a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
Alexander Volkov also scored in the third for Tampa Bay, which trailed 1-0 after two.
Kucherov’s first goal, at 19:21, was the game winner. His second, 23 second later, ended the scoring.
Curtis McElhinney made 31 saves for the Lightning.
Calle Jarnkrok scored for Nashville, and Juuse Saros stopped 29 of 31 shots.
Beauvillier, Isles Soar over Wings
Anthony Beauvillier scored his second goal of the night in overtime, helping the New York Islanders top the Red Wings 4-3 in Detroit.
Trailing 3-2 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Beauvillier tied the game with a backhander. His game-winner was a snap shot 32 seconds into the extra period.
Derick Brassard and Devon Toews also scored for New York, which had Semyon Varlamov and Christopher Gibson split the game in goal. Varlamov made 15 saves in the first two periods. Gibson allowed two goals on 11 shots in the third, and did not see a shot in overtime.
Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit, and Jimmy Howard finished with 22 saves.
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The Associated Press
