Chris Kreider has turned the tide in the Hudson River Rivalry.
Kreider scored a natural hat trick on Thursday night to lift the Rangers past the Devils, 6-1, at Prudential Center.
The Devils unraveled in the final two periods, allowing six unanswered goals. It was a complete reversal from earlier in the season when the Devils won both meetings against the Rangers.
The Devils have now lost seven of their last eight games, including four in a row at The Rock. They will try to salvage the homestand on Saturday in the second half of a back-to-back with the Rangers.
"There's no secret," Devils' coach Lindy Ruff said before the game. "If you're going to score one or two a night, it's going to be awfully tough to win hockey games. We got to get that number up to around three every night."
Jack Hughes put the Devils in front when he scored about seven minutes into the game.
Sami Vatanen fired the puck the length of the ice and it bounced off the end boards and out in front. Hughes was in the right place and skied a shot for his fifth goal of the season and third against the Rangers.
It was only the second time in the last six games that the Devils scored the opening goal.
"It was important," Hughes told MSG+ after the first intermission. "We've been in a little bit of rut here. For us to get on the board first and play with a lead is big."
The Rangers answered back with a pair of goals in the second period from the red-hot Kreider. The first one came on a quick passing play with Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan Strome combining to set up the power play goal. It broke a streak of penalty kills for the Devils, who went 6-for-6 over the previous three games.
The Rangers struck again later in the second period when Kreider deflected a shot from the left point.
"We know they have some real good talent up front with the speed they have in (Mika) Zibanejad and Kreider," Ruff said. "They have some good net-front. You know that they're a quick-strike team."
Kreider completed the hat trick only 23 seconds into the third period when he roofed a shot past Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. The veteran winger has been on scoring tear with nine goals in the last six games.
The Rangers chased Blackwood out of the game a few minutes later when Buchnevich one-timed a pass from No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere.
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Ruff shook up the lineup as a way to spark the slumping Devils. Miles Wood bumped up to the top line, while Jesper Bratt was demoted to the fourth line. Forward Janne Kuokkanen drew in for the first time since Feb. 23, replacing a healthy scratched Nikita Gusev.
Those moves paid off in the first period when the Devils fired 14 shots on goal. It was a much more caffeinated start than on Tuesday night when the Devils were held to four shots in the first 20 minutes.
But it wasn't enough to prevent a Rangers' blowout.
