Rangers score three goals late to beat Devils, 5-3
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jimmy Vesey and Artemi Panarin scored two goals apiece as the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 on Saturday night, extending their point streak to 11 games.
Panarin set a Rangers record by running his season-opening point streak to 15 games, the longest of his career. His first-period power-play goal broke the old mark he shared with Rod Gilbert, and his second goal midway through the third tied the game 3-all.
Vesey broke the tie with 2:49 to play when he backhanded the rebound of Tyler Pitlick’s shot into an open net. Blake Wheeler added an empty-net goal to seal it, and Vincent Trocheck had three assists.
Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. New York (12-2-1) is 10-0-1 in its last 11 games.
Jack Hughes returned to the New Jersey lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury. He scored once and set up a go-ahead goal by Erik Haula to put the Devils ahead 3-2 early in the third.
Ondrej Palat and Erik Haula also scored for New Jersey. Vitek Vanecek made 30 saves.
Panarin tied it 3-all with a quick shot from the right circle off a faceoff. Vesey got the game-winner after Shesterkin stopped Jesper Bratt in close on a wraparound in the first meeting between the Hudson River rivals since New Jersey eliminated New York in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last spring.
Panarin has 10 multi-point games this season and he became the first Rangers player with five in a row since Jaromir Jagr 17 years ago. His 15-game point streak is the longest for New York since Wayne Gretzky in 1996-97.
The Rangers twice took one-goal leads in the first period only to see the Devils tie it. Panarin, who had a career-high nine shots on goal, scored on the power play only to see Hughes answer less than a minute later with a shot from the side boards that Shesterkin muffed.
Vesey scored on a rebound at 14:11 but Palat tied it at 2 with a power-play goal late in the period.
Vanecek and Shesterkin were outstanding the second period. Shesterkin stopped Hughes in close on a backhand and made a glove save on a drive by Dougie Hamilton in handling 13 shots in the period. Vanecek turned away all 11 shots he faced, with the best coming against Panarin and Trocheck, who has a five-game point streak.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Will play Monday at Dallas.
Devils: Play at Detroit on Tuesday.