Devils Defeat Rangers, Bratt Hits 500 Point Milestone

Jesper Bratt reached 500 NHL points, and Connor Brown and Jack Hughes each had three points in the New Jersey Devils 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

“Always fun coming to the Garden and playing here,” Jack Hughes told NJD.TV. “Unreal atmosphere, unreal rink, unreal fans, a lot of Devils fans here tonight. Always just really fun coming here and playing."

On their second shot of the game, the Rangers opened the scoring off a snap shot from defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.

Nico Hischier scored the Devils' first goal at the 16:14 mark while Gabe Perreault was in the penalty box serving a holding penalty. Brown and Bratt assisted on the power play goal.

With 4:43 remaining in the first period, Arseny Gritsyuk gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead. It was the rookie's 13th goal of the season, which is currently tied for the 10th most among first-year players.

Within the first minute of the second period, New York tied the game at 2-2 as Jacob Markstrom allowed goals on back-to-back shots. Mika Zibanejad celebrated his 28th goal of the season and 17th career goal against New Jersey.

Brown gives New Jersey a 3-2 lead with eight minutes remaining in the middle frame. It marked the Devils' second power play goal of the night. Jack Hughes and Hischier were credited with the assists.

Timo Meier extended the Devils' lead to 4-2 early in the third period. Paul Cotter, who scored the game-winning goal in New Jersey’s last game, picked up the lone assist.

Conor Sheary scored the Rangers' third goal of the game at the 10:19 mark of the final frame, but three minutes later, Jack Hughes scored to get the Devils ' two-goal lead back. Entering the game, Hughes had 14 points in 12 career games at Madison Square Garden.

Jesper Bratt scored New Jersey’s final goal of the night with 3:38 remaining in regulation. Jack Hughes picked up his third point of the night, earning an assist on the goal. Per Leo Scaglione Jr. of MSG Networks, “Jack has 35 points against the Rangers since 2019. His 20 goals and 35 points against the Rangers are the most of all NHL players since 2019.”

The Devils will hit the road for the next four games with stops in Washington, D.C., Dallas, Nashville, and Carolina. New Jersey will face the Washington Capitals on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Capital One Arena.

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