Jack Hughes supplied the late finish in Newark, driving the New Jersey Devils past the New York Rangers 3-2 on Monday as a busy preseason slate also brought wins for the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hughes breaks through for Devils against Rangers
With the game level in the final minutes at Prudential Center, Hughes carried the puck through the right circle, turned down toward the goal line and forced it home from outside the near post with 2:12 left in regulation.
The Devils had opened their exhibition schedule with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday. Monday marked the Rangers’ first preseason outing.
- Nico Hischier put New Jersey ahead at 11:55 of the second period. His backhand from the slot changed direction off Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and beat the goalie.
- Anton Blidh answered at 16:05 of the second, firing a short-side wrist shot from above the right circle past Nico Daws.
- Timo Meier restored the Devils’ edge at 19:10, taking the puck away behind the net and scoring on a wraparound at the right post.
- Drew Fortescue made it 2-2 at 7:07 of the third with a wrist shot over Daws’ glove from the high right circle.
- Hughes then settled the contest with his late goal.
Meier finished with a goal and an assist. Jake Allen handled the opening period and turned aside all three shots he faced, while Daws stopped 13 of 15 the rest of the way. Dylan Garand made 28 saves for New York.
Anthony Mantha made his Devils debut and did not record a point. The winger signed for two years and $9.5 million on July 15, carrying a $4.75 million annual cap figure. Luke Evangelista, who picked up an assist in his New Jersey debut, arrived from the Nashville Predators in a Sept. 1 trade. He signed a five-year, $36.25 million contract on Sept. 15 that begins in 2027-28 and carries a $7.25 million average annual value.
Rangers forward Adam Sykora exited at 9:28 of the first period after a corner hit from Devils defenseman Mikael Diotte. Sykora suffered a lower-body injury, needed assistance leaving the ice and did not return.
Capitals get a two-goal night from Brodzinski
Washington turned a tie game into a comfortable 5-2 preseason win over the Philadelphia Flyers at GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Jonny Brodzinski scored twice in the third period, including a short-handed marker, after also scoring in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins.
Brodzinski joined Washington on a one-year, $850,000 contract as a free agent on July 1.
- Philadelphia struck first on Jack Studnicka’s power-play goal at 2:42 of the opening period.
- Aliaksei Protas tied it during a 5-on-3 at 9:35, burying the rebound from Dylan Strome’s shot at the right post.
- Ryan Leonard gave Washington a 2-1 advantage with 42 seconds left in the first.
- Cole Knuble pulled the Flyers level at 8:06 of the second, but Strome responded at 18:17 for a 3-2 Capitals lead.
- Brodzinski scored at 1:57 of the third, then converted short-handed at 9:45 to close the scoring.
Strome posted a goal and an assist, Leonard and Protas scored, and defenseman Ryan Chesley recorded three assists. Leonard had signed an eight-year, $84 million deal with Washington on Sept. 15, with a $10.5 million average annual value.
Charlie Lindgren gave up two goals on 14 shots before Clay Stevenson replaced him midway through the second period and stopped all six shots he saw. For Philadelphia, Knuble had a goal and an assist in the club’s first preseason game. Joseph Woll, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 16, stopped 16 of 19 before Carson Bjarnason took over to begin the third and made seven saves.
Rust leads Pittsburgh in opener against Buffalo
Bryan Rust put together a three-point preseason opener as the Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh and Buffalo were each playing for the first time this exhibition season.
Rust scored once and assisted on two others, while Connor Dewar added a goal and an assist.
- Dewar opened the scoring at 10:27 of the first period, taking Rust’s short feed and beating Alex Lyon through the legs with a wrist shot from above the slot.
- Rust doubled the lead with a power-play goal at 12:16 of the second.
- Jake Richard got Buffalo on the board on the power play at 18:32 of the middle frame.
- Avery Hayes answered with two seconds remaining in the second period to make it 3-1.
- Elmer Soderblom added an empty-net goal at 18:13 of the third.
Sergei Murashov stopped all 13 Buffalo shots he faced before Joel Blomqvist entered midway through the second and allowed one goal on 11 shots. Lyon made 16 saves for the Sabres, and Colten Ellis turned away all eight shots he faced in the third period.
Columbus blanks Detroit before shootout decision
Goaltending carried the Columbus Blue Jackets through a scoreless 65 minutes against the Detroit Red Wings at Nationwide Arena before Conor Garland delivered the lone shootout goal in a 1-0 win.
Jet Greaves started for Columbus and stopped all 16 shots over the first two periods. Pheonix Copley took the third, made two saves in regulation and denied all three Detroit shooters in the tiebreaker.
Garland scored in the first shootout round, giving Columbus all the offense it needed in the preseason opener for both clubs. Daniil Tarasov, Detroit’s July 1 free-agent signing on a one-year, $2 million deal, stopped 15 shots across two periods. Michal Postava replaced him for the third and made 10 saves.
