Devils top Rangers, 4-3, in shootout thriller

NEWARK – It doesn’t seem right that, with more than half the regular season remaining, the Devils and Rangers are scheduled to play just once more.

Because the Devils’ 4-3, four-round shootout win on Thursday night at an amped-up, divided Prudential Center was everything that was fun about this longstanding rivalry, even if it took most of the Rangers other than goalie Henrik Lundqvist two periods to show up.

“We believe in what we’re doing,” said veteran center Brian Boyle, who has seen this rivalry from both sides and scored the third-period power-play equalizer for the Devils and then the decisive goal in the shootout. “It’s good to know when the pressure gets ramped up or you know the other team is going to be at its best, in a rivalry game like this where you could call it a playoff-type atmosphere, it’s the little things, the details that make a huge difference.”

The Devils (20-9-5), taking a season-high 48 shots on Lundqvist, who made a season-high 45 saves, including 22 in a lopsided second period, moved back into first place in a Metropolitan Division race in which six points separates the first six spots. Cory Schneider made 25 saves as the Devils have won the first three games of a season-high six-game homestand and are on a 4-0-1 run overall.

The fourth-place Rangers (19-12-4) had their three-game winning streak snapped.

“They came out and played well,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “That being said, thinking back on the first two periods, we did everything we could to lose that game. There was one player who wouldn’t let us lose it and that was Hank.”

The Devils, who had Marcus Johansson back in the lineup after a four-game absence because of an ankle bruise, have 22 division games remaining over their final 48 of the season and are now 3-3-0 in divisional play after splitting their first two games with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The teams play next on April 3 at The Rock.

The Devils won, 3-2, on Oct. 14, leaving the Rangers at 1-5-0, but were thoroughly outplayed in a 5-2 loss on Dec. 9, after which a disgusted Devils coach John Hynes described his team’s play as “soft” and “loose.”

“Even pushing them down by a point, you never know when that’s going to come in handy,” said Schneider, who stopped four shots in overtime. “We still have a lot of hockey ahead but it feels good.”

“It’s still early but I think we showed when we play the right way and follow our system, we can control games,” added Blake Coleman, whose shorthanded goal at 16:24 of the second period tied the game at 2 after a cross-checking call on Kyle Palmieri at 15:15 wiped out an apparent goal by No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier. “That felt good. We felt the call on Palms could’ve gone either way. Maybe a little karma kicks in there, too.”

Kevin Hayes, banking a shot off defenseman Damon Severson at the left post, gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 1:48 of the third period.

But Boyle, diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia at the start of training camp but now with four goals in five games and nine in 24 games since returning, connected with a power-play backhander from low in the slot to tie the game at 3 at 11:54.

He scored in the fourth round of the shootout and Schneider then turned aside Kevin Shattenkirk’s attempt to clinch the win.

“It’s been amazing to have him back,” right wing Kyle Palmieri, who had two assists and tied Sami Vatanen with a team-high six shots, said of Boyle. “In big moments, he steps up.”

The Devils took nine of the game’s first 11 shots and led 1-0 on John Moore’s goal at 7:22. But the Rangers went ahead with Jimmy Vesey and Nick Holden scoring on rebounds over the next 4:37. The Devils then outshot the Rangers 23-8 in the second period.

Three stars of the game

1. Henrik Lundqvist: The Rangers goalie showed up on a night when many of his teammates didn’t, with a season-high 45 saves including 22 in the second period.

2. Brian Boyle: The Devils center ties the game with a power-play goal and scores the decisive goal in the shootout.

3. Kyle Palmieri: The Devils right wing had two assists tied for a team-high with six shots as he was part of a dangerous top line with Nico Hischier and Taylor Hall.

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