NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Timo Meier scored twice and Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves as the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers 4-0 on Saturday in an outcome that clinched the Tampa Bay Lightning their eighth straight playoff berth.
Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier also scored as New Jersey won its third straight while the Rangers had their two-game winning streak snapped.
After a scoreless first, Meier scored on the power play at 10:56 of the second, beating Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin just four seconds after Sam Carrick took an interference penalty.
Bratt made it 2-0 — shorthanded at 12:23 — with his 21st goal.
Meier scored his second of the game and 24th of the season at 15:01 of the third. Hischier made it 4-0 at 16:12 with his team-leading 35th goal. Hischier added two assists.
Markstrom denied the Rangers the rest of the way for his fourth shutout of the season and the 24th of his career. The 35-year-old Swedish netminder is 26-14-6 in his first season with the Devils.
The Rangers, a year after finishing with the leaguesa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ best record, are in danger of missing the playoffs. They trail Montreal by two points with six games remaining. Montreal has seven games left.
New York failed on its two power-play chances and have scored only twice in their last 43 man-advantage opportunities.
New Jersey is solidly in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points.
Shesterkin made 12 saves in tghe loss, falling to 25-27-5 this season.
Takeaways
Rangers: Fell to 18-16-4 on the road, including a 5-0 drubbing at Prudential Center in their previous visit on Dec. 23.
Devils: Improved to 19-13-15 at home with their fourth win in five games overall.
Key moment
Meiersa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ goal midway through the second period snapped a scoreless tie and the disjointed Rangers generated little offense for the second half of the contest.
Key stat
New Jersey is 34-1-2 when leading after two periods. The Devils have nine shutouts overall this season.
Up Next
Rangers: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
Devils: Host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
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