It didn’t take long — just 5:09 of game time that started with a brutal J.T. Miller turnover and ended with Dylan Garand getting pulled — for the Rangers to produce their first dud of the season. It didn’t take long, just one 7-1 embarrassment against the Devils that ended with train times back to New York being broadcast on the video board and “Rangers suck” chants echoing throughout Prudential Center, for all of the optimism from the first two weeks of the season to come to a screeching halt across the Hudson River.
Garand allowed four goals across the disastrous stretch and was pulled in favor of Spencer Martin, who allowed another three.
It wasn’t entirely Garand’s fault. The Rangers (6-3-0) didn’t generate many chances over the final 40 minutes, had just 19 shots for the game and completely abandoned the defensive identity that anchored their tear to begin the season. After the Blueshirts had fixed plenty of their wrongs from 2025-26 by winning five straight at home and defeating the Islanders, they failed to get another rivalry win and had flaws exposed in the process.
“Just one of those forgettable games,” defenseman Adam Fox said.
The Blueshirts have 75 games remaining to prove that this was an anomaly, beginning Saturday with a tilt against the Blue Jackets that just became critical. Thursday night, they were left piecing together what went wrong in the first Battle of the Hudson of the season. Head coach Mike Sullivan said they didn’t manage the puck in the final two periods, were disconnected in all three zones and didn’t play with the right intentions. The Rangers had four high-danger chances and 11 scoring chances in the first frame, according to Natural Stat Trick, but those numbers dipped to just one and three, respectively, across the final 40 minutes.
New York Rangers center J.T. Miller, right, skates to the bench after the New Jersey Devils scored a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Newark, N.J. Noah K. Murray for NY Post
For once, it wasn’t Jack Hughes — who entered with 35 points in 26 games against the Rangers — tormenting them, as he finished with just an assist. Instead, it was younger brother Luke Hughes who scored twice, while Evan Rodrigues, Nico Hischier, Arseny Gritsyuk, Stefan Noesen and Cody Glass all added goals for the Devils.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored his second of the season on the power play for the lone Rangers tally. By that point, down 6-0, it was meaningless.
New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. Noah K. Murray for New York Post
“We just didn’t have it,” Miller said. “Disconnected. All over the place, and giving up chances we haven’t been giving up.”
A brutal turnover by Miller late in the first period started to shift the game in the Devils’ favor, as he whiffed on a cross-ice pass in the Rangers zone that ended up right on the stick of Rodrigues. The captain took responsibility for the brutal gaffe — “I should have just ate it” — but it gave the Devils an advantage that quickly snowballed.
Luke Hughes scored just 18 seconds into the second period, when his shot deflected off Fox and past Garand. Meier scored off a rebound before Gritsyuk made it 4-0 after just 31 seconds had passed, and Sullivan pulled Garand — who allowed four goals on 14 shots — to try to change momentum. Sullivan, as well as the Rangers’ veterans, said it wasn’t the 24-year-old’s fault. Nonetheless, this also became a reminder of the Rangers’ small margin for error, even with all the promise that Garand has shown, without Igor Shesterkin in net. Thursday marked the first time in his NHL career that Garand had allowed more than two goals in a game.
Read the expert take on the Blueshirts
Sign up for Inside the Rangers, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.
Thank you
Everything unraveled quickly. Earlier in the first period, when Jack Hughes tore in on the rush, Garand saved the tough shot. As the Rangers were killing a penalty, Mika Zibanejad threaded a pass to Braden Schneider that nearly led to a goal. They killed a full two minutes of five-on-three.
Then, everything that worked for them since the season opener in Boston disappeared, and if the last seven games served as the blueprint for the Rangers, their formula to win with or without Shesterkin, this was the antithesis of that.
“It’s a humbling experience when you go through games like this,” Sullivan said. “Nobody wants to live through those types of experiences, but what I will tell you is, is when you go through a humbling experience like this, it forces all of us to look in the mirror and make sure that we bring the right intentions and try to respond the right way.”