Mika Zibanejad and Erik Gustafsson scored in the second period as the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 on Monday night.
Vincent Trocheck also scored and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves as the first-place Rangers won their second straight after losing three of four. New York is 14-3-2 in its last 19 games and beat New Jersey for the third straight time this season after the Devils won their first-round series in seven games last spring.
Devils defenseman Simon Nemec spoiled Quick’s shutout bid with 2:34 remaining. Kaapo Kahkonen finished with 23 saves in his New Jersey debut after he was acquired from San Jose last Friday.
The Devils lost for the eighth time in 11 games and for the third time in four games under interim coach Travis Green, who replaced Lindy Ruff on March 4. They trail Detroit by six points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Quick improved to 14-5-2 this season with his 389th career victory. The 38-year-old tied Dominik Hasek for 15th in league history and moved within two wins of Ryan Miller for the most triumphs among American-born goalies.
New York was coming off 4-0 home win over St. Louis last Saturday and has won 10 of its last 11 games at Madison Square Garden.
Zibanejad, who hadn’t scored since Feb. 22, backhanded the puck past Kahkonen after a New Jersey giveaway with 7:35 left in the middle period. The goal was Zibanejad’s 20th of the season.
Gustafsson made it 2-0 with 52 seconds left in the second with his shot from the point as towering forward Matt Rempe screened Kahkonen. It was his sixth goal.
With 30 seconds remaining in the second period, Rempe was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. The 21-year-old Rempe, who has become a fan favorite since his Feb. 18 debut, was challenged by New Jersey’s Kurtis MacDermid but officials kept them separated.
The 6-foot-7 Rempe mocked the Devils bench with a hand signal as he was led off the ice. Siegenthaler didn’t return for the third period.
Rempe logged 17 penalty minutes and 13 seconds of ice time at New Jersey on Feb. 22 in his third NHL game. He received a match penalty for his hit on the Devils’ Nathan Bastain in the first period of that game.
Trocheck’s empty-net goal with 1:13 remaining, his 24th, completed the scoring.
