Credit: theScore.com
New Jersey Emerges Victorious Over New York in 2026 Hudson River Rivalry Debut
Published: Saturday, March 7, 2026
by Ryan Fox
NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils (32-29-2) took on the New York Rangers (24-30-8) on Saturday afternoon for the first Hudson River Rivalry game of this season. Both New York and New Jersey entered this afternoon’s matinee matchup coming off wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week. The Devils came into the contest occupying the seventh spot in the Metropolitan Division while the Rangers sit behind them in last.
Jesper Bratt welcomed the Rangers to the Rock early in the first, netting his 14th goal of the season off a cross-ice pass from Cody Glass with the secondary assist going to Johnathan Kovacevic.
Shortly after, New York saw the first power play of the game after a high-sticking call from Devil Nick Bjugstad. New York was not able to capitalize on the man advantage. However, just after the expired penalty, New York's Will Borgen found the back of the net against Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom, tying the game at one a piece, with Vincent Trocheck picking up the assist.
Just minutes later, Vladislav Gavrikov was able to beat Markstrom, giving the Rangers their first lead of the game, with assists going to Noah Laba and Tye Kartye.
In the last two minutes of the period, New Jersey saw their first power play of the game, where Dawson Mercer was able to tip it past Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick off a pass from Luke Hughes, giving Arseny Gritsyuk the secondary helper. The first period of play closed out at 2-2.
After some downtime during the early stages of the second, Jack Hughes was called for interference, giving the Rangers another opportunity to bring out their power play, but remained unsuccessful.
Nearing the end of the half-way mark of the period, Trocheck was called for slashing where Jack Hughes was able to answer back just as the penalty was set to expire. As Hughes collected his 13th goal of the season, with Bratt and Hamilton grabbing the assists, Will Cuylle had an immediate response, netting one past Markstrom, with Braden Schneider and Taylor Raddysh collecting the assists.
The second period ended in a 3-3 tie, with both teams looking to extend the momentum heading into the final period of play.
New Jersey kept the pedal to the metal all throughout the third. Gritsyuk was handed a double minor for roughing, even throwing a few punches, which is rare for the light-hearted player he is. After review, the Rangers were handed a two minute power play, but failed to capitalize on the man advantage. Shortly after, Cuylle was called for hooking, where Nico Hischier found the back of the net handing a pair of assists to Bratt and Dougie Hamilton.
New Jersey did not stop there, as Jack Hughes responded on a breakaway against his rivals not once, but twice. His second goal came from a pass from Connor Brown, with him beating Quick on a breakaway. He then slotted the empty netter off a pass from Brown once again, with the secondary going to Kovacevic, securing the 6-3 win.
Jack Hughes has been quite the icon of the NHL, ever since his golden goal against Canada in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. He added on to that resume tonight with the fourth hat trick of his career, and first against the Rangers.
The Devils were crowned victorious in Saturday’s matinee debut of the Hudson River Rivalry against the Rangers, and will return to action Sunday night, at home in Newark, at 7:00 p.m.
Ryan Fox can be reached at ryan.fox@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,