Jack Hughes has been the guy deemed the "New York Rangers Killer" in their matchups. The New Jersey Devils' top star has so many points against the Rangers in his career. Hughes has 28 points in 23 games in his career against the Devils' biggest rival. This season, Hughes had five goals in three games and the Devils had a 2-0-1 against the Rangers. In the one playoff series between the two in Hughes' career, he had three goals and two assists in seven games.
Unfortunately for the Devils, they do not have Jack Hughes for their latest New York Rangers meeting. He is done for the season after shoulder surgery. Luckily for the Devils, they didn't need the Big Deal on Saturday afternoon. It was a dominant effort all around, and the Devils finished off their rival 4-0.
It was all thanks to Timo Meier. After a scoreless first period, Meier got the Devils going just four seconds into their first power-play opportunity. Luke Hughes sent him a beautiful pass to Meier, who's been lethal with his one-timer on the power play since he was upgraded to the first unit. His rocket shot gave Igor Shesterkin no shot, and that ended up being the game-winning goal.
Meier was not done scoring, as Timo Time is clearly not just a March event. Seamus Casey made an insane feed that landed right on Meier's stick, and he snuck it past Shesterkin. This was Casey's first game back in the lineup since February 26th. It was just his 11th game of the season, but he made himself known with this play, and he might just earn himself a spot in the playoff lineup.
No quit in Timo. pic.twitter.com/hHnkBuf9Q3
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 5, 2025
Timo Meier was a dominant force against the New York Rangers
Meier was the dominant player in this game, but Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier also had goals. The Devils' stars showed up in a big way in a rivalry game that meant everything to this team's confidence. After knocking the Minnesota Wild down a notch with two straight wins against them, the Devils came into this game after four days off.
We've seen the Devils come out flat after a long layoff, but the team put the foot on the gas and never stopped. They didn't have a lot of shots, finishing the game with just 16 shots on the day, but they missed a ton of shots that would have been of the high-danger variety.
With the win, the Devils put the Rangers' chances at a playoff berth in serious doubt. The Rangers are down to under a 20% chance to make the playoffs, according to Money Puck
This was an important game for the Devils. They showed how they can win for the rest of the regular season. With fewer power plays in the playoffs, they do need a little more scoring at 5v5. Meier scored the Devils' only 5v5 goal (not including the 6v5 empty-netter), and he will be key in keeping the Devils in a series with the Carolina Hurricanes.