NEW YORK — Game three of the Rangers’ four-game set against the Devils was on the way to being another blowout until Devils forward Nathan Bastian skated into Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin after Shesterkin covered up a puck early in the third period.
Shesterkin took exception to Bastian coming at him, and his teammates jumped Bastian, which sparked some angry words and, eventually, matching minor penalties against Bastian and the Rangers’ Chris Kreider. The Devils then scored two goals on the ensuing four-on-four, and suddenly, the Rangers unexpectedly found themselves in a one-goal game.
But Pavel Buchnevich, on his 26th birthday, rescued the Rangers when he scored into an empty net with 1:21 to go, completing his first career hat trick, and slumping Chris Kreider added an empty-netter of his own to give the Rangers a 6-3 win, their third straight over the Devils. The teams play again Sunday afternoon in Newark to finish their season series.
