NEW YORK (AP) — Jesper Bratt had a goal and three assists, Jack Hughes scored twice and Jacob Markstrom made 39 saves as the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Rangers 5-1 on Monday night.
Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton also scored and Luke Hughes had two assists for the Devils, who won for the fifth time in seven games.. New Jersey is nine points ahead of the Rangers, who had the best record in the NHL last season.
Chris Kreider ruined Markstrom’s shutout bid with a power-play goal with 6 1/2 minutes left in the second period. Igor Shesterkin finished with 22 saves while losing his fifth straight start to fall top 8-9-1 this season. The Rangers have lost six of their last seven.
Bratt scored his 12th goal just 1:27 into the contest with a low shot that eluded Shesterkin. Mercer made it 2-0 at 7:10 of the first.
Hamilton scored on the power play at 9:04 of the second, and Jack Hughes made it 4-0 with 7:22 remaining in the period. at 12:38. Hughes got his second of the night and 11th of the season, getting New Jersey’s second power-play goal of the game, with 1:04 left in the middle period.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, BLACKHAWKS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his first goal since returning from injury as Toronto defeated Chicago.
John Tavares, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies, into the empty net, provided the rest of the offense for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves. Mitch Marner had two assists in his 600th regular-season game.
Lukas Reichel scored for Chicago, which has lost three straight. Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.
Matthews missed nine games with an upper-body injury before picking up two assists in his return to the lineup Saturday in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 27-year-old center opened the scoring in the first period before Tavares doubled Toronto’s lead on a deflected shot in the second. Reichel made it 2-1 early in the third, but Minten restored the home side’s two-goal cushion 21 seconds later.
STARS 2, UTAH 1
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Evgeni Dadonov and Jamie Benn each scored to help Dallas beat Utah for their third straight win.
Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots for Dallas, which has won eight of its last 11 games.
Nick Schmaltz scored and Karel Vejmelka finished with 19 saves for Utah, which fell to 3-2-1 in its last six.
Dadonov scored on the power play at 7:07 of the second period and Benn made it 2-0 in the final minute of the period.
Schmaltz got Utah on the scoreboard at 6:57 of the third.
Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev played his 500th career game on Monday.
