Devils beat Rangers 7-1 as Luke Hughes scores twice and four goals come in 5 minutes

A scoreless game that turned in 5 minutes

The New Jersey Devils beat the New York Rangers 7-1 on Thursday night, Oct. 15, at Prudential Center in Newark. The announced crowd was 16,527, according to ESPN. The Associated Press reported it was the first meeting of the season between the teams. ^{[1] [2]}

The game was scoreless until Evan Rodrigues scored an unassisted goal with 30 seconds left in the first period. New Jersey Hockey Now and Blueshirt Banter both traced the goal to a J.T. Miller turnover that sent Rodrigues in alone on the Rangers' net. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

The second period then turned the game. Luke Hughes scored 18 seconds in on a snap shot, Nico Hischier scored at 4:08, and Arseny Gritsyuk made it 4-0 at 4:39. That was four goals in 5 minutes and 9 seconds counting Rodrigues' goal, ESPN's scoring summary shows. The AP described it as four goals in just over five minutes. ^{[1] [2]}

Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand was pulled after the fourth goal. ESPN's box score credits him with four goals allowed on 13 shots in 24:25. Spencer Martin played the rest of the game. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

Hughes, Daws and the rest of the scoring

Luke Hughes added a second goal at 16:34 of the second period to make it 5-0, assisted by Brett Pesce and Amadeus Lombardi. The AP said it was the first multigoal game of his NHL career. ESPN named Hughes its first star, Rodrigues the second star and Daws the third. ^{[1] [2]}

Stefan Noesen scored at 7:01 of the third period for a 6-0 lead. Pavel Dorofeyev then spoiled the shutout with a power-play tip-in at 8:02, set up by Adam Fox and Alexis Lafreniere. Cody Glass closed the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 14:54, according to ESPN. ^{[1] [3]}

Daws stopped 18 of 19 shots, and the AP reported he was perfect until Dorofeyev's goal. New Jersey Hockey Now reported it was Daws' first win of the season and Lombardi's first career multipoint game. Lombardi had two assists, as did Timo Meier, Pesce, Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton, per the ESPN box score. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The Devils outshot the Rangers 31-19. New Jersey went 0 for 4 on the power play, and the Rangers went 1 for 4, ESPN's team statistics show. ^[1]

Standings and what comes next

ESPN lists the Devils at 4-3-0 (8 points) after the win and the Rangers at 6-3-0 (12 points). The AP said it was New Jersey's second straight victory and the Rangers' third loss in nine games. ^{[1] [2]}

Both teams are back on the ice Saturday, according to the AP. The Rangers visit Columbus and the Devils visit Washington. ^[2]