Jack Hughes has been a sensation over the last three and a half weeks, and it only continued Saturday against the Rangers.
Recording his fourth career hat trick in a 6-3 Devils victory at Prudential Center, Hughes became the first New Jersey player to have such a game against the team’s cross-river rivals since Scott Gomez on Dec. 26, 1999.
Add it to his fast growing list of accomplishments and triumphs, which includes scoring the overtime game-winning goal for an Olympic gold medal.
His golden goal also led to appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Two of his three goals Saturday night came in the final 20 minutes, including an empty-netter at the tail end of the third period.
Seven seasons into his NHL career, Hughes has 19 goals in 24 games against the Rangers.
“Can’t say enough good things about Jack,” Vincent Trocheck said of his USA teammate, who scored the golden goal against Canada at the Olympics in Milan last month. “His play spoke for itself at the Olympics. Obviously, he was one of our best players and scores the goal that made me a gold medalist. The way he’s handled post-Olympics, I think it’s been a blessing to have him as kind of the poster boy for Team USA. He’s handled everything so well with such humility, and it’s been an honor to watch him after.”
After giving up another goal less than two minutes into the start of a game, when Jesper Bratt scored 1:06 after puck drop, the Rangers got a couple of goals from their defensemen.
Jack Hughes celebrates a goal during the Devils’ 6-3 win against the Rangers on March 7, 2026 at Prudential Center. NHLI via Getty Images
Will Borgen notched the first before Vladislav Gavrikov recorded his 12th goal of the season, doubling his previous career high.
The Devils had only capitalized on one of their previous 26 power plays, but they went a perfect 3-for-3 against the Rangers.
With 12.4 seconds left in the first period, Dawson Mercer scored first with the man advantage to tie it up 2-2.
Hughes later cashed in on the power play in the second period, one of his three goals on the day.
Vincent Trocheck skates during the Rangers’ March 7 loss to the Devils. NHLI via Getty Images
It only lasted for just over a minute, however, as Will Cuylle notched his third goal in the last two games.
Nico Hischier broke a 3-3 tie just over eight minutes into the third period when the Devils captain scored his team-leading seventh power-play goal after following up on a rebound.
“Just a lack of urgency,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said of their PK. “We didn’t box it at our net front, get sticks. We’re standing there screening our goalie. Look at how the goals were scored. Three of them were just sifters from the outside. We don’t get into people. There’s just no urgency to it.”
Jonathan Quick defends the Rangers’ net during their March 7 loss to the Devils. NHLI via Getty Images
Borgen has switched to his off-side on the left of Braden Schneider in recent games, after the 29-year-old defenseman spent the entire season on the right side.
“We think we get a better version of Schneider when he’s on the right side, and so that’s why we made the switch,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to try Will there and see how Will is able to adjust. There’s a lot of subtleties to the position. It’s not as simple as — I think it’s harder for a defenseman to play the off-side if he’s not used to it than it is for, say, a wing to play the off-side because the pivots are different, the angles are different, the stick detail when you’re defending, the rush, one-on-one, things of that nature. So, there’s a lot of subtleties to it. Some players like it, prefer it. Others don’t.”
Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 29 of the 34 shots he saw in his 15th loss of the season.
