Zibanejad, Rangers recover, defeat Devils for four-game sweep

NEWARK, N.J.-- Mika Zibanejad broke a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period, and the New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-3 at Prudential Center on Sunday.

Zibanejad scored on a wrist shot from the high slot at 17:00 to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.
New York (23-16-6), 5-0-1 in its past six games, swept a four-game series to finish the season 6-2-0 against New Jersey.
The Rangers went 2-for-6 on the power play and have scored nine goals with the man-advantage in their past nine games.
"I think we move the puck and we attack (on the power play)," Zibanejad said. "I think we play at a higher tempo, moving the puck and supporting each other. We work hard to get the puck back, and we're scoring right now, so that's huge for our team."
The Devils (14-24-6) rallied from down 3-0 to tie it on goals by Mikhail Maltsev, Marián Studenič and Nico Hischier but lost their sixth game in a row, all in regulation. Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves.
"We tried to battle back, but at the end of the night, a lot of penalty calls against us that hurt momentum," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said.

Alexandar Georgiev made 10 saves on 10 shots for the Rangers but was injured after making a save at 17:41 of the first period. Igor Shesterkin made two saves on two shots in 2:19 of relief; Georgiev returned to start the second period and finished with 25 saves.
"I felt the pain on the side of the (left) kneecap and couldn't really bend the knee or put any pressure on it," Georgiev said. "Our doctor fixed it pretty quick, and I knew I would be good to play in the second period."
The Rangers are fifth in the eight-team MassMutual East Division, four points behind the fourth-place Boston Bruins. The Devils are seventh, 22 points behind the Bruins. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"If you're going to make the push, you're going to need everybody contributing and it can't be just a line," New York coach David Quinn said. "Usually players take turns making a difference night in and night out. It can't just be a line or a guy, so that's kind of what we have going right now."
Chris Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal on a tip-in at the left post at 6:31 of the first period.
Vitali Kravtsov made it 2-0 with his first NHL goal at 14:03.
"I feel so good and so exciting," Kravtsov said. "It's unbelievable feelings to score your first goal and something to tell my kids."

Alexis Lafreniere
scored on a backhand from the slot after using his right skate to kick the puck to his stick, giving the Rangers a 3-0 lead at 5:17 of the second period.
Maltsev scored on a backhand from the slot to pull the Devils within 3-1 at 18:55.
Studenic scored his first NHL goal to make it 3-2 at 1:53 of the third period.
Hischier scored to tie it 3-3 on a snap shot from the high slot at 5:30.
"It doesn't matter if [the Bruins] win or lose if we don't win, so we tried to just settle down when they scored the tying goal," Zibanejad said. "We had a very good power-play opportunity late in the game. We converted and got away with two points, and that's all we care about. Taking care of business and making sure we win hockey games."

Ryan Strome scored an empty-net goal at 19:35 for the 5-3 final.
"I don't care how many leads you blow; it doesn't matter if you find ways to win, and that's what we did," Quinn said. "That being said, we certainly understand that if we're going to have success, we've got to play better."
NOTES: Zibanejad turned 28 on Sunday. ... Rangers forward Artemi Panarin had two assists and has scored 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 20 games since returning to the lineup March 13 after missing nine games while on a leave of absence. ... Devils forward Nolan Foote had an assist in 8:07 of ice time in his NHL debut. ... The Rangers are 13-4-3 with a plus-37 goal differential since March 13. … Hischier had seven shots on goal and was 8-for-13 on face-offs.