Devils Dominate Rangers in 7-1 Win as Nico Daws Earns First Victory of the Season

“Let’s Go Devils!” and “Let’s Go Rangers!” chants echoed throughout the Prudential Center during the opening 30 seconds Thursday night, setting the stage for a heated matchup between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.

After 60 minutes, the Devils had secured a dominant 7-1 victory, backed by a strong offensive performance and goaltender Nico Daws’ first win of the 2026-27 season. The 25-year-old stopped 18 of 19 shots, while Luke Hughes scored twice. Timo Meier, Brett Pesce, Evan Rodrigues, Amadeus Lombardi, Dougie Hamilton and Dawson Mercer each recorded two assists.

Seven minutes into the first period, Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, appearing in his second game of the season, dropped the gloves with Will Cuylle after the Rangers forward took down Kovacevic’s defensive partner, Declan Chisholm.

For the second consecutive game, Rodrigues opened the scoring. At the 19:30 mark of the first period, he found the back of the net with an unassisted goal to give New Jersey a late-period advantage.

The Devils wasted little time extending their lead in the second period. Just 18 seconds after the puck dropped, Luke Hughes scored his first goal of the night, with Meier and Pesce earning the assists to make it 2-0.

Nico Hischier followed with his first five-on-five goal of the season, pushing the Devils’ lead to three. According to DevilsPR, the tally marked Hischier’s 203rd career goal, moving him past Travis Zajac and Bobby Holík for the third-most goals by a skater in franchise history.

“These things obviously make me a little proud, but for me, I'd rather get a fourth Stanley Cup to this franchise,” Hischier said. “So, obviously, I've worked really hard to get to this point, but I'm not done. I still want to keep working hard, and like I said last time too, with my 200th goal, there's been more to come, and I just want to bring this team somewhere.”

New Jersey continued its offensive surge less than a minute later when Arseny Gritsyuk found the back of the net, prompting the Rangers to replace goaltender Dylan Garand with Spencer Martin.

The goaltending change did little to slow the Devils.

At 16:34 of the second period, Luke Hughes scored his second goal of the night to extend New Jersey’s lead. Pesce recorded his second point of the game, while Lombardi picked up his second NHL point.

The Devils carried their momentum into the third period. Stefan Noesen scored off a pass from Lombardi, giving New Jersey a 6-0 advantage and marking the rookie’s first multi-point game.

Daws’ shutout bid ended at the 8:02 mark of the third period when Pavel Dorofeyev scored his second goal of the season on the power play.

With five minutes remaining, Cody Glass added another goal, scoring his first of the season to make it 7-1. Mercer and Hamilton recorded the assists on the late third-period tally.

Beyond the lopsided scoreline, the night also marked a career milestone for head coach Sheldon Keefe, who earned his 300th career victory.

The Devils (4-3-0) will practice Friday in Newark before traveling to Washington, D.C., to face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (4-3-0) on Saturday. 

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