NEW YORK - Any hopes of turning one dominant performance into a short winning streak were dashed for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden Tuesday.
They hung tough after it looked like the score might get away from them in the second period, but the Blueshirts ultimately fell victim to a 4-3 loss in their first meeting of the young season with the New Jersey Devils.
The opening period has been telling through the Rangers' first three games.
It only took 32 seconds for a bad omen Tuesday, with an ill-timed defensive pair change leaving Miles Wood wide open on the right wing. His shot was saved by Alexandar Georgiev, but Travis Zajac's rebound got by him for a quick 1-0 lead.
The slow start continued for the Rangers (1-2), who didn't put their first shot on goal until more than eight minutes had elapsed. Still, they escaped the period with just the one-goal deficit.
The second period began with a tying goal from Chris Kreider on a power-play at the 2:50 mark, but it didn't last long. Less than a minute-and-a-half later, Jack Hughes pounced on a rebound from a Ty Smith shot that popped in the air and landed behind Georgiev.
That began a big night for the No. 1 overall pick from 2019, who finished with three points.
With 8:38 elapsed in the second period, Hughes got in front of a pass from Jacob Trouba and carried the turnover all the way for a breakaway goal, pushing the Devils' lead to 3-1. The 19-year-old also had an assist on a power-play goal from Wood with four minutes remaining in the period, although replay seemed to show a kicking motion that should have called the goal into question.
Hughes now leads the Devils (2-0-1) with six points through their first three games, with a hand in six of New Jersey's seven goals so far this season. That's five more points than the No. 2 pick from the 2019 draft, Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko.
Sandwiched in between the second Hughes goal and the Woods goal, Mika Zibanejad netted his first of the season on a power play to cut the Rangers' deficit to 3-2. But Wood would score less than four minutes later.
New Jersey put a fifth goal on the board temporarily on a one-timer from P.K. Subban, but it was reversed after a coach's challenge revealed the Devils were offside.
Filip Chytil scored his first goal of the season in the third period to bring the Rangers to within one goal.
Georgiev was pulled after allowing four goals on 20 shots in two periods, with rookie Igor Shesterkin posting a scoreless third period. The Rangers outshot the Devils, 50-28.
