Five-Goal Second Period Carries Devils to Win over Rivals | GAME STORY

NEWARK, NJ - Trailing 2-0 heading into the second period, the Devils didn't fold. Instead, they rattled off five unanswered goals in less than 11 minutes on their way to an impressive 7-4 win over their archivals, the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Tomas Tatar and Jack Hughes each scored two goals to lead the way for the Devils.

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Post-Game Report: Beating the Rangers
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The Devils head to Canada tonight and will play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The game can be seen on MSG+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Just over seven minutes into the first, the Rangers struck to open the scoring. After Chris Kreider intercepted a pass and put the puck quickly on net, Mika Zibanejad scooped up the rebound and flipped it past an outstretched Nico Daws.
Midway through the first, Zibanejad took a penalty to give the game's first power play to the Devils but Rangers were able to kill it off.
Shortly after the penalty expired, Adam Fox converted a feed from Zibanejad to double the Rangers' lead to 2-0.
After one, shots on goal were 14-11 for the Rangers but the Devils came out strong in the eventful second period with five unanswered goals.
"We came out flying. Scoring five. Lindy said (in the first intermission) we need to win this period. If we get down again, 3-0 or 4-0 you know we're out of the game. Definitely one of the better periods we've played this year," stated Jack Hughes. "They're one of the top teams. We're working. We want this to become a pretty good rivalry. It's there in terms of the passion of the fans. For us to get a win at home is a huge win for our fans."
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff elaborated on his message between the first and second.
"We looked at a couple plays after the first period. Showed video. There were a couple areas we needed to be better. A strength of our team is speed and we were too slow," Ruff said. "Our first two opportunities, we didn't shoot. One was a three-on-one and a two-on-one we didn't execute but after that we really started moving the puck well."
Seven minutes into the middle frame, Ryan Graves ripped a shot from the top of the left circle that was stopped by Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Tomas Tatar was at the top of the crease, however, and poked the rebound in to draw the Devils within a goal.
Just over a minute later, the Devils tied it up. P.K. Subban ripped a shot from the point that beat a screened Shesterkin and, suddenly, it was a 2-2 game.
Devils made it three unanswered goals in the third period. Dawson Mercer picked up a rebound and put it into the open net.
"My goal, just finding those loose pucks. Hit off the rebounds. He's an unbelievable goalie. We had some problems in previous games against him," said Mercer. "It felt good."

Thirty-three seconds later, Tatar netted his second of the game, tapping a feed in past an outstretched Shesterkin and now, with four straight goals in the period, Devils were up 4-2.
Forty-two seconds after Tatar's marker, Jesper Bratt scored on the rush with Ryan Reaves in the penalty box. The Rangers challenged the play for offside and it was successful, with the replay showing that Dougie Hamilton was slightly over the blue line when Bratt carried the puck into the zone.
With 1:53 to go in the second, the Devils finally did get that fifth goal. Yegor Sharangovich ripped a shot after taking a drop pass from Nico Hischier.
Shots on goal in the second were 13-9 for New Jersey.
"It's a sign of a good team," added Ruff. "You can't win every period. Can you make an adjustment? Can you play a better better by sometimes flipping a few players around or forechecking a little harder. We changed our transition game and that led to some more opportunities."
Rangers got a goal back early in the third. Artemi Panarin's shot from the point beat a screened Daws to pull the Rangers within a pair less than four minutes into the final frame.
Strome took a roughing penalty eight minutes into the period, setting up Jack Hughes for some heroics. Hughes scored two goals 1:10 apart to extend the Devils lead to 7-3. The first goal on the night by Hughes was the 100th point in his NHL career.
"Struggled my first year big time, second year better. To get to 100 is good. Hopefully my next 100 comes a lot faster than that one did," chuckled Hughes, who also reached the 20-goal mark in a season for the first time in his career. "100 NHL points is pretty good."
With 5:04 to go in the third, Chris Kreider scored a power play goal to make it a 7-4 game. It was the only power play the Devils gave the Rangers in what was a very disciplined night.
"We were disciplined. We didn't really take any penalties," said Ruff. "When they got that power play, they executed."