Rangers ease past Devils again in Game 2 of Eastern 1st Round

NEWARK, N.J. --Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists for the New York Rangers in a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Prudential Center on Thursday.

It was Kane's first goal with the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team trade Feb. 28.
"It's special," Kane said. "These are the moments you come to New York ... for a situation like this. There's going to be moments in the playoffs where you're called on to step up and try and produce.
"It was nice to do that tonight. It makes it all worth it."

Chris Kreider scored two power-play goals, Adam Fox had two assists, and Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves for the Rangers, the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division.
New York also defeated New Jersey 5-1 in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series. It hosts Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
"It's nice coming out of here 2-0, but we know it's far from over," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "We've been in this situation before. You've got to keep playing it one game at a time."
RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]
Erik Haula scored, and Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves for the Devils, the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan.
"The team has always been up for an incredible challenge and they're going to battle to the bitter end," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "They're facing some veteran players that have been through wars ... but this group has a lot of heart. They've got a lot of desire."

Haula gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 11:44 of the first period on a power play, knocking in a loose puck in the crease on a backhand.
The Rangers responded with three goals on nine shots in the second period.
Tarasenko tied it 1-1 at 5:53 on a wrist shot from the high slot through a screen by Vincent Trocheck.
Kreider made it 2-1 at 9:57 with his third power-play goal of the series, deflecting a point shot by Kane from the slot. He pushed it to 3-1 on another power play with a tip-in at the right post off a pass from Kane at 16:00.
"[Kreider's] able to get his stick on everything," Kane said. "In practice, we do a lot of drills where shots are coming from the point and he just tips everything. It's tough to cover that on a power play."

Kane made it 4-1 when he broke in down the left wing before cutting across the crease and lifting a backhand over the left arm of Vanecek at 6:34 of the third period. It was his first postseason goal since Aug. 18, 2020, in the Western Conference First Round.
"I just kind of picked the pocket of [Jesper Bratt] and pushed the puck ahead," Kane said. "It seemed I had a step on their defenseman and Kreider and I were going on a 2-on-0. I was looking to pass to him but they kind of took him away, so I thought I'd take it to the net. It was nice to see it go in."
Kane had his ninth career three-point playoff game, tying him with Chris Chelios for fourth-most in NHL history by a United States-born player. Only Kevin Stevens (13), Craig Janney (11) and Joe Pavelski (10) have more.
"Just the way he carries himself, his presence, just seeing how he works and takes care of himself, there's a reason he's the player he is and he's had the career he's had to this point," Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said.
Kaapo Kakko scored on a one-timer in the slot off a pass by Filip Chytil from behind the net at 13:05 for the 5-1 final.
"A lot of it is our game ... we have to focus on ourselves," Devils center Jack Hughes said. "They're a good team, so we're just not playing up to our standard and it's biting us in the [rear] right now."
NOTES:New York went 2-for-7 on the power play and is 4-for-10 in the series; New Jersey went 1-for-4 Thursday and is 1-for-8 in the series. … Fox is the sixth defenseman in NHL history with six points (all assists) in his first two games of a playoff year. He surpassed Brad Park for the most points by a defenseman in the first two games of a postseason in Rangers history. ... Kreider is the first player in NHL history with four power-play goals in his first two games of a playoff year. ... The Devils have not scored a 5-on-5 goal in the series. Hughes scored on a penalty shot in Game 1. … Haula is the sixth player in NHL history to score at least one postseason goal with six teams (Devils, Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota WIld), joining Jason Arnott, Matt Cullen, Doug Gilmour, Mike Sillinger and Bryan Smolinski. … Kane has 53 NHL playoff goals, tying Jeremy Roenick for fourth-most among U.S.-born players in League history. Only Pavelski (64), Joe Mullen (60) and Mike Modano (58) have more.