The Devils are fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 8-7-1.
The New Jersey Devils fell to the New York Rangers by a final score of 5-3 Saturday night at Prudential Center. Jack Hughes returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a shoulder injury and scoring his team's first goal. Ondrej Palat and Erik Haula also scored for New Jersey. Artemi Panarin and former Devil Jimmy Vesey scored twice for the Rangers, with Blake Wheeler adding an empty net goal with a little over a minute left in the game.
New Jersey has dropped four of their last five games.
"I think we're a good hockey team. We're in a rough stretch of hockey right now, including tonight," Hughes said. "That's a game really good teams win. And we're not there right now. That's something that we'll have to get back to. We've done it before. We just have to sharpen up, our top guys all the way to the bottom."
Five Things
1. Jack Hughes Picked Up Where He Left Off
Emily Kaplan's report that Hughes was fighting to get back for Saturday night's rivalry game versus the Rangers proved correct. The 22-year-old returned from his shoulder injury and led all forwards with 22:40 ice time. He scored the team's first goal of the night in the first period and finished the game with eight shots on goal.
"He looked great," Bratt said of Hughes. "He's been skating a lot and got some help from the skills coaches, and he looked great out there."
"It was good to be back out there with the boys," Hughes said.
2. A Tough Physical Game
Surprisingly, the Devils had the edge in hits by the final horn at Prudential Center (29-23). Defenseman Kevin Bahl led the way with eight, while Michael McLeod and Lazar tallied four apiece, but that statistic does not tell an accurate story.
When it came to physicality, the Rangers were the more aggressive team. Jacob Trouba laid massive hits on Tomas Nosek and Michael McLeod. Alexander Holtz briefly left the ice after taking a hit from Vincent Trocheck, but luckily for the Devils returned.
"They played physical, and we did not match that," Hughes said.
3. Devils Lose Nosek After Trouba Hit
In the first period, Nosek had his head down looking for the puck around Igor Shesterkin's net when Jacob Trouba hit him. The veteran tried to support himself by holding on to the cage and trying to skate to the bench before falling to his knees. An athletic trainer attended to him along with Curtis Lazar, who helped him skate off the ice.
Nosek did not return due to an upper-body injury.
4. Ondrej Palat Extends Point Streak With First Goal of the Season
Palat extended his point streak to three games (one goal, two assists) after scoring his first goal of the season. Per the media notes, the streak marks the third time that Palat earned a three-game point streak since joining the Devils last season. Palat's career-high point streak with the Devils is four games.
"You watch how hard he works on every puck. He finally caught a break. It's good to see anybody get on the board after a stretch like that," Ruff said. "It takes the weight off a player."
5. Ex-Devil Jimmy Vesey Shined
Vesey played one season with the Devils. He appeared in 68 games and earned 15 points (eight goals, seven assists). Since leaving the team as a free agent in the summer of 2022, he has faced his former team five times and has collected four points. He has 10 points in 19 games in his career versus New Jersey.