James Nichols
It’s mid-March and the New Jersey Devils (34-31-2) and New York Rangers (28-31-8) are meeting for just the second time this season. In fact, all three of their meetings are this month amid this condensed schedule in 2025-26.
Perhaps next year with an 84-game schedule, the meetings could be a bit more spread out and frequent.
Anyway, neither the Devils nor Rangers are heading to the postseason this year. Yet, the Devils (6-4-0) and Rangers (6-2-2) are trying to show a little fight down the stretch.
Let’s dive into tonight’s matchup.
What to Know vs. Rangers
— The Devils and Broadway Blueshirts face-off for the second of three matchups and conclude their regular-season series on March 31
at MSG.
—Jack Hughes has recorded 19 career goals against the Rangers, which leads all NHL skaters since he logged his NHL debut in 2019-
—His 32 career points against the Rangers rank second behind D. Pastrnak (34) for all NHL skaters since 2019-20.
—Hughes 32 career points are his most vs any single NHL opponent. The 2019 No. 1 overall draft selection’s 10 career goals against New York’s Igor Shesterkin leads all NHL skaters. Sam Reinhart ranks second with nine, while four others have eight.
—The Devils were 3-0-1 last season against New York, while last year’s series marks the first time in team history that the Devils did not surrender a goal at home against the Rangers.
—Last season marked the first time since 2003-04 that the Devils shutout the Rangers twice in a single season.
—Hughes earned his fourth career hat-trick in the first matchup for the 2025-26 Hudson River Rivalry
2025-26 vs. Rangers
Mar. 7/26 W 6-3 Prudential Center
Mar. 18/26 7:00 P.M. ET Madison Square Garden
Mar. 31/26 7:00 P.M. ET Prudential Center
Devils vs. Rangers
All-time Record:114-122-27-13
All-time Home Record: 73-55-7-5
All-time Road Record: 41-67-20-8
Projected Devils Lineup*
Forwards
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown
Arseny Gritsyuk – Cody Glass – Lenni Hameenaho
Paul Cotter – Nick Bjugstad – Maxim Tsyplakov
Defensemen
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes – Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Goaltenders
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
*Lineup subject to change
Current Injuries: Zack MacEwen (upper body, out for season)
2025-26 Total Man-Games Lost: 286
Projected Rangers Lineup*
Forwards
Gabe Perreault – Mika Zibanejad – Alexis Lafrenière
Will Cuylle – Vincent Trocheck – J.T. Miller
Tye Kartye – Noah Laba – Conor Sheary
Taylor Raddysh – Adam Edstrom – Jaroslav Chmelar
Defensemen
Matthew Robertson – Adam Fox
Vladislav Gavrikov – Braden Schneider
Urho Vaakanainen – Will Borgen
Goaltenders
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
*Lineup subject to change
How to Watch the Devils Game — 7:00 P.M. ET
Watch: TNT/HBO/MAX
Radio: DEVILS HOCKEY NET
Next Up
Wed., March 18 At NYR 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Fri., March 20 At WSH 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Tue., March 24 At DAL 8:00 P.M. E.T.
Thu., March 26 At NSH 8:00 P.M. E.T.
Sat., March 28 At CAR 5:00 P.M. E.T.
