Rangers Burned By Devils

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Whatever pre-game nap the Rangers had taken before the game, they didn’t come out of it, as they entered the Prudential Center with a chance, and left bruised, beaten and outplayed. New York fell at the hands of the budding playoff contenders, the New Jersey Devils, 5-2 at the Rock. New Jersey is only two points away from clinching a playoff spot, while the Rangers keep sinking in the standings, already out of the playoffs.

Right off the bat, Travis Zajac scored just 35 seconds into the contest. Then Taylor Hall banks in a rebound to quickly make it a 2-0 game.

Will Butcher would add one more to make it a 3-0 game before Ryan Spooner would net one at 17:47 to make it a 3-1 game in the first.

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Will Butcher and Taylor Hall would add two more goals to the Devils tally in the second period, making it a 5-1 game. Hall and Butcher had outstanding performances, as Hall amassed three points, while Butcher collected two goals, which was the first multi-goal game of his career.

Kevin Hayes would add an unassisted goal for the Rangers to make it 5-2 in the 3rd, but it wasn’t enough as New Jersey took the victory.

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Lackluster play throughout the night with some growing pains from the rookies was the theme for the night. Another reason for this lackluster play was the absence of Jesper Fast and Mats Zuccarello. Fast, was declared out for the season after it was revealed he had a groin issue and Zuccarello sat for the game due to a lower-body injury that is day to day.

Chris Kreider was vocal about the team’s lackluster play last night:

“It makes for a pretty easy night for the opposition and a pretty hard night for us,” he said.

The team failed to generate any sustainable offense and did not break out of the defensive zone well, along with a plethora of penalties that buried them.

As the end of the season draws near and the Rangers far out of contention, games like this are common for rebuilding teams. The silver lining that comes from this game is that the youngsters on this roster have another game of experience under their belts. This is how we have to see things for the remaining games. This is the first step of the new era Rangers.

Next Game: The Blueshirts are back in action on Thursday when they face the Islanders at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

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