New Jersey
Devils, Rangers Battle in Hudson River Rivalry | PREVIEW | New Jersey Devils
THE SCOOP
The Devils continue their march to a berth in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. The club has a solid hold of the No. 3 spot in the Metro Division. A victory against the Rangers would almost lock in a spot for New Jersey, which has a magic number of seven. The Devils face the Rangers following a four-day break in their schedule, a rarity at this time of year. The Devils entered the break winning three of their last four games.
New Jersey will be without superstar Jack Hughes for the rest of the year. Following shoulder surgery, he is unavailable until next season. Defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler are both out for the rest of the regular-season, though Hamilton has begun skating.
In Hughes’ absence, forward Jesper Bratt has stepped up offensively to fill the void. Bratt has a single-season team-record 66 assists and personal career high of 86 points. He has 16 points (3g-13a) in his last 11 games. Captain Nico Hischier, who has four goals in his past two games which included his second career hat trick, paces the team with 34 goals. The Devils have five 20-goal scorers on the team with Hischier, Hughes, 27, Timo Meier, 22, Bratt, 20, and Stefan Noesen, 20.
Defensively, Luke Hughes has elevated his game of late. He leads all blueliners with 41 points on seven goals and 34 assists. Hughes’ 34 helpers ranks third on the team overall and best among defensemen. Goalie Jacob Markstrom has refound his game following a return from an MCL injury. He has won his last three starts and is 3-0-1 in his past four outings.
The Rangers are battling for their playoff lives. They currently are on the outside of the bubble with 79 points (as of Friday). They’re two points behind Montreal for the final Wild Card spot with both teams having played 75 games.
The Rangers are led by Artemi Panarin’s 34 goals, 48 assists and 82 points. Vincent Trocheck (22) and Chris Kreider (20) have each cracked the 20-goal mark. Recently returned JT Miller has 19 goals and 61 points, which ranks second on the club. Defenseman Adam Fox has 47 assists on the year, ranking fifth among all NHL blueliners. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, a two-time NHL Goalie of the Year, has struggled in net. He’s 25-26-5 on the year with a 2.86 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. Those numbers are the worst of his career.
New York’s power play has struggling, converting only 17.4-percent of its chances to rank 27th in the NHL, however the PK unit is 6th with an 81.7-percentsuccess rate.
WHO’S HOT
Devils: Defenseman Luke Hughes has six points (1g-5a) in his past three games, and eight points (1g-7a) in his last five contests.
Rangers: Artemi Panarin has a three-game scoring streak with seven total points (3g-4a). That includes a three-point night (1g-2a) against Minnesota on Wednesday.
INJURIES
Devils: J.Hughes (shoulder, LTIR), Siegenthaler (undisclosed, LTIR), Hamilton (undisclosed, week-to-week), Glass (undisclosed)
Rangers: Edstrom (lower-body), Kaliyev (upper-body), Rempe (upper-body)
REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS
New Jersey
N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said in a statement on Facebook that she has been briefed about the incident and her office is monitoring the situation.
Pazmino said her organization is calling on members of the community to come together.
“Brown and Black immigrant communities and nonimmigrant communities are welcome, and should be uniting against this force,” she said.
She is also calling on local officials to assist relatives of those taken into custody.
“We need to support families affected by these kidnappings, with mutual aid, donations and anything else you think will help each other,” Pazmino said.
A woman identified as Andrea, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, tearfully spoke in Spanish about the anguish she feels and her fears about the future without her husband Christian, one of the men taken into custody. A friend, who translated her word into English, said Christian was a good and honest man.
“If he used to see a neighbor carrying something heavy, he would run to help them. If a friend needed a favor, he didn’t ask, he just did it,” she said.
She said “his daughter was his whole world. He would wake up to her and give her kisses every morning. He would play with her after a long day at work. He loved us and protected us. He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”
The Rev. Erich Kussman, St. Bartholomew’s pastor, said the entire Lutheran Church stands with the family.
“Anything you need, you can come to us. I want you to know that. I will stand with you, and we will do what we can to protect you, because that’s the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Standing with ICE is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, hands down,” he added. “Fifty-one times the scriptures tell us to welcome the immigrant and foreigner as one of our own. If you’re not living true to that gospel, the words of Christ himself, you are not a Christian, no matter what you claim to be.”
With immigration enforcement activity on the rise in New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand protections for immigrant communities. One measure called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act” would allow individuals to file a lawsuit against ICE agents who violate their constitutional rights.
Another proposed bill would require any business that operates a private prison or detention facility in the state to pay a tax equal to 50% of the taxpayer’s gross receipts derived from the operation of the facility during the previous year. The bill also stipulates all revenues generated would go to an “immigration protection fund.”
Recently proposed legislation would prohibit ICE agents from ever holding a public job in the Garden State, and New Jersey U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim are proposing legislation to prevent new funding for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to purchase a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.
Requests for comment from ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service were not immediately returned.
New Jersey
Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ
A brief respite from cold weather is ahead of New Jersey this weekend, before temperatures continue to rise late next week, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday, Feb. 28 will be sunny across the Garden State, and temperatures will be comfortable, reaching the high 40s and low 50s.
Then, a brief artic cold front is expected to move into the region late on Saturday night, bringing temps to low 30’s and some scattered snow showers on Sunday, especially in North Jersey.
During the week, a couple low pressure systems are in the NWS forecast. Little snow if any is expected from these systems, especially in the late week, when a significant warm-up is expected.
Asbury Park and Monmouth County weekend weather forecast
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.
Sunday: Partly sunny and a chance of snow before 1 p.m. The high should be near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Wildwoods and Atlantic County weather forecast
Saturday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 56.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Sunday: Partly sunny and a slight chance of rain before 1 p.m. The high should be near 44. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.
Newark and Essex County weather forecast
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.
Saturday night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 32.
Sunday: Cloudy and scattered snow showers before 1 p.m. Then gradual clearing of skies, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.
Juan Carlos Castillo is a New Jersey-based trending reporter for the USA Today Network. Find him on Twitter at _JCCastillo.
New Jersey
Winning numbers drawn in Thursday’s New Jersey Pick 6 Double Play
The winning numbers in Thursday’s drawing of the “New Jersey Pick 6 Double Play” game were:
8, 23, 29, 34, 43, 45
(eight, twenty-three, twenty-nine, thirty-four, forty-three, forty-five)
For more lottery results, go to Jackpot.com | Order Lottery Tickets
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