NEWARK, N.J. – As bad as things have been for the Devils this season, they got worse Tuesday when the team announced, after the first period of its game at Prudential Center against the Rangers, that its 20-year-old star center, Jack Hughes, was done for the season after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee in Sunday’s game against the Islanders.
But the Rangers didn’t have time to feel sorry for their Hudson River rivals. They have a playoff spot to nail down, and beating the Devils, 3-1, got them two points closer to taking care of that.
Ryan Strome returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower body injury and scored a goal for the Blueshirts, and Chris Kreider continued his dream season by scoring his 25th power-play goal of the season, breaking the team record. The goal, Kreider’s 47th of the season, also happened to be the game-winner, which was Kreider’s 10th of the season and also broke a team record.
