GAME STORY: Rangers 6, Devils 3

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Same start. Different ending. Same result.
Like Thursday, the New York Rangers scored the game's opening four goals to stake a 4-0 lead. Unlike Thursday, the Devils showed some fight by battling back and scoring three of their own.
But in the end, it wasn't enough as the Rangers defeated New Jersey, 6-3, at Madison Square Garden Saturday afternoon on the strength of Pavel Buchnevich's hat trick on his 26th birthday.

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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils return home to face the NY Rangers on Sunday, the final meeting between the clubs. You can watch on MSG+ and listen on the Devils Hockey Network,
including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com.
Game time is 3:08 PM ET.
New York received goals from Buchnevich (3), Ryan Strome, Artemi Panarin (who also had three assists) and Chris Kreider. The Devils rebounded with goals from Michael McLeod, P.K. Subban and Yegor Sharangovich
The Devils did most of their damage with a pair of goals 64 seconds apart while working on a 4-on-4. That two-goal outburst cut a 4-1 deficit to 4-3 with 13:22 left in the third. New Jersey kept the charge coming and even had a late third-period power play, but couldn't find that even-up tally. Two late empty-net tallies made the score look worse than the game really was.
"I saw a lot of what I liked in our team," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said. "When you create that much pressure, there's a chance you give up a few rushes. A couple were on tough turnovers. I thought we had them on the ropes in the third. Even after the timeout we kept coming at them. I thought our power play had a lot of chances, but we couldn't capitalize."
Here are some other observations from the game…
* The Devils' long national nightmare is over. They scored a goal on Shesterkin. Late in the second period, Michael McLeod leaped onto a loose puck at the crease and lifted it over the outstretched arm of Shesterkin.
"It was a big goal," McLeod said. "Not scoring in the last two games, it's nice to get back on the board and have something to build around."
The goal ended the goaltender's shutout sequence at 199:33 minutes, dating back to March 4. With curse broken, the Devils managed to add two more goals on the afternoon.
* The Devils finally solved Shesterkin for three, but they certainly had their opportunities for more:
* Bastian returned to the lineup for his first game action since March 18. He was reunited with McLeod and Miles Wood, which was an effective trio for the Devils earlier in the season. Bastian, who was out with a lower-body injury, got involved early. He threw a hard check into New York's Libor Hajek. Seconds later he boarded Hajek and then hit Kevin Rooney, which sparked a post-whistle melee.
In the third period he plowed into Shesterkin while driving to the net, though he was helped into the goalie by a push from Brendan Smith. He certainly went into the net with reckless abandonment. The ensuing penalties, though, resulted in 4-on-4 play and two goals from the Devils.
"I felt really good. It was a long time coming," Bastian said. "To be able to go back out there and play with the guys felt good. As the game went on, I felt more comfortable."
The Devils were missing some bite with Bastian out of the lineup. He has the ability to use physical force to change the momentum in a game. He's one of the few players on the team's roster with that character trait.
* With back-to-back games, the Devils planned on giving regular goalie Mackenzie Blackwood one game off. That game was Saturday as Aaron Dell made just his fifth appearance this season. The veteran goalie was under fire much of the game, but handled the pressure well. He didn't receive much help in front and was the victim of several Devils' breakdowns, but gave them a chance to win 24 saves.
* Some mental errors led to New York's goals. McLeod turned the puck over in the neutral zone while trying to beat Panarin 1-on-1. That led to a 2-on-1 rush that Buchnevich finished. A miscommunication on a penalty kill led to the team taking a too-many-men penalty. The Rangers would score twice on the ensuing man-advantages. The Rangers made it 4-0 just 32 seconds into the second period when Panarin caught Ty Smith flat-footed and easily swerved around the rookie D-man to score.
"Killed ourselves. Shot ourselves in the foot," Ruff said. "Terrible communication between our D. D ended up with too many men on the ice. We came out the way we wanted to come out, had a lot of energy, were playing the game the right way. But to me, you take a team with that skill and give them a 5-on-3, they get every opportunity to create momentum."
Ruff pointed to McLeod in particular for showing how to handle mistakes. His turnover led to the Rangers' opening goal - "Not a smart play by me," he admitted - but he responded by trying to make up for that mistake.
"(McLeod) was in on two or three scoring chances, he scored our first goal," Ruff said. "He played as hard as he could after that shift to get us back into the game."