Devils edge Rangers, extend lead on them for 2nd in Metropolitan

NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils extended their lead on the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division, defeating them 2-1 at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Erik Haula and Timo Meier each scored in the first period, and Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves for the Devils (47-20-8), who are four points ahead of the Rangers and one point behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes, who have one game in hand, with seven games remaining.
Vanecek (30-10-4) became the first Devils goalie to win 30 games in a season since Hockey Hall of Fame member Martin Brodeur in 2011-12. Brodeur had 30 or more wins 14 times.
"You're going game by game and I'm really happy, but I have to get credit to my teammates," Vanecek said. "They always play really good front of me, so that's a big credit for them."
New Jersey, which lost six of its previous eight, won a regular-season series (3-0-1) against New York for the first time since 2017-18 (3-1-0).
"We want to improve our game and then once the playoffs hit, it's obviously a different game," Meier said. "I think for us, it feels good, but if we face them in the playoffs, we've got to be ready to play hard and play a good hockey team."
Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves for the Rangers (44-21-10), who lost for the first time in four games.
"They have a lot of skill and a lot of talent," New York coach Gerard Gallant said. "They are a real good team. They've taken a step and have 102 points. They are a confident group. They work hard and play hard.
"After the first period, we played real well. We've got to come out a little bit better than we did."

Haula gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 5:17 on a redirection at the left post after Dougie Hamilton sent the puck in from the right point.
"I think we stuck with it and tried to take away some of their creativity and rush chances and, for the most part, I thought we took a step," Haula said. "It was a full game, it was tight, and [all their lines] can score, so I thought we executed our game plan pretty well."
Meier pushed it to 2-0 at 17:03 with a power-play goal from the slot off a give-and-go with Jack Hughes, who was in the left face-off circle. It was Meier's 36th goal of the season, an NHL career high, in his 71st game. He scored 35 in 77 games last season with the San Jose Sharks.
"Obviously great play by [Hughes]," Meier said. "It was a good entry, a good job by everybody holding the puck in there and rotating in spots and being interchangeable. Then Jack found me and I got a little lucky; it hit off their guy's stick, but I think for the power play, it's definitely nice to get this one and it definitely feels good."
Chris Kreider pulled the Rangers within 2-1 on the power play at 13:24 of the second period with a snap shot at the right post. New Jersey failed on two clearing attempts on the play, the first by Yegor Sharangovich and another by Ryan Graves. Adam Fox passed to Mika Zibanejad, who backhanded a pass to Kreider for his 33rd goal of the season.
"I thought we had some looks, some good chances but we just weren't able to capitalize on it," Fox said. "We've got to move on pretty quickly. You can't let up goals early. It's going to be a tough way to win when you do that."

Vanecek made 10 saves in the third period, including a right-pad stop against Vincent Trocheck at the left post at 8:11 after Trocheck took a lead pass from Patrick Kane.
With 1:03 left and Shesterkin pulled for the extra attacker, Graves cleared a puck in the crease that got behind Vanecek and was sliding toward the goal line.
"Really, it's just sitting there and I had to make a choice," Graves said. "If you're going to hit it back into the area, try to scoop it out. It's just a split-second decision. I'm just happy I didn't hit it my own net. It was pretty close."
NOTES: Kreider tied Vic Hadfield for fifth on the Rangers goals list (262). ... Zibanejad (assist) set an NHL career high with 82 points (38 goals, 44 assists) in 75 games. He had 81 points (29 goals, 52 assists) in 81 games last season. ... Hamilton got his 50th assist of the season to become the third defenseman in Devils history to reach the mark (Scott Stevens, 60, 1993-94; Tom Kurvers, 50, 1988-89). ... Vanecek improved to 7-3-1 in 11 games against New York. ... Meier had a game-high five hits in 17:52 of ice time.