If only it were always this easy.
New Jersey
Jack Hughes Leads New Jersey Devils To 6-3 Win Over New York Rangers
The New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers tonight by a score of 6-3. If you’re experiencing some deja-vu reading that sentence, that’s because the Devils also beat the Rangers 6-3 less than two weeks ago. Jack Hughes was the story of that game, and Jack Hughes was the story of this game. His goal and two assists helped key a suddenly unstoppable Devils offense. Connor Brown chipped in with a goal and two assists of his own, and Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt each registered a pair of points themselves.
This was a thorough domination from start to finish. The scoreboard might not have reflected that until New Jersey scored a pair of late goals in the third to make this a blowout, but the Devils absolutely smashed the Rangers tonight. New Jersey outshot New York 39-18, including a bewildering 17-2 in the first period. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils finished the night with an Expected Goals For% just north of 69%. The power play kept rolling, scoring twice in four tries. The Devils skaters were doing whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. I credit New Jersey for this, but I would be lying if I told you it was all them, as the Rangers played very uninspired hockey. There is such a lack of talent on that team, and they brought very little effort to tonight’s contest. New Jersey was the better team, and this was an impressive victory, but New York also made it extremely easy for them.
The only reason this was still a game for 55 minutes was because Jacob Markstrom was deeply, deeply awful this evening. He allowed three goals on those 18 Ranger shots, good for an .833 save percentage. Natural Stat Trick had New York at 1.54 xGF in all situations, meaning Markstrom gave up about a goal-and-a-half more than expected. At one point, the game was tied when shots were 16-2 and then 17-3 in favor of the Devils, which should be illegal. He was spraying room-service rebounds all over the place, he was swimming in his crease as always, and if the team in front of him didn’t idiot-proof the game, we would be talking about another dispiriting loss. To his credit, he made a big save on an Alexis Lafreniere breakaway (with help from a slash from Simon Nemec), but that was the beginning and end of the praise for Markstrom tonight.
But that’s all the complaining I will do about this game. If you put Markstrom aside, this was one of the most enjoyable Devils games of the season. It’s always good to beat the Rangers of course, but especially in a bloodbath like this. Watching Hughes continue his ownership of the Rangers is fun, watching Arseny Gritsyuk make Adam Fox and Jonathan Quick look like chumps is fun, watching Timo Meier maintain his reputation for being a March assassin is fun, and watching Brown and Hischier and Bratt all put up big nights is fun. Everyone up and down the lineup contributed.
The Devils have now scored six goals in two consecutive games. They have scored six goals three times this season (their only three times this season), all since that March 7 game against the Rangers. The offense overall has been humming since the Olympic break, and the wins are starting to pile up as a result. It’s still almost certainly too little too late, which is truly frustrating. But New Jersey has been playing inspired hockey lately. The product has been much more fun to watch, and not just because it has led to wins. The brand of hockey the Devils are playing is exciting, it’s compelling, and most importantly, it plays to this roster’s strengths. That it took them until the season was already lost to figure it out is such a shame.
But for tonight, the Devils beat the Rangers. It’s always a good night when the Devils beat the Rangers. It might have been over an empty husky of what used to be the Rangers, but for one night, the Devils gave us a reminder of the team they can be at their best.
The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com
With his assist on Nico Hischier’s power play goal in the first period, Jesper Bratt reached the 500-point plateau. His goal later in the contest meant he finished the night at 501 career points. Reaching such a mark in the NHL is impressive enough, but for a sixth round pick to do so is something truly special. Bratt has pushed himself further than anyone except perhaps himself ever thought he could go, and he is without doubt one of the great homegrown Devils success stories. Tonight, a tip of the cap to the 162nd pick in the 2016 draft. Congratulations on your milestone, Jesper.
The Devils play one more game against the Rangers this season, and if you’re New York, the gameplan for that contest has to start with staying out of the box. New Jersey eviscerated the Rangers’ penalty kill in the first game of the season series, going 3-for-3 with the man advantage. Tonight wasn’t quite on that level, but 2-for-4 on the power play is still terrific production. Even in one of the advantages that didn’t yield a goal, the Devils (particularly the second unit) completely smothered the Rangers’ PK, including Luke Hughes ringing a shot off a post. According to my quick math, the Devils have gone 5-for-7 total on the PP over two games against New York. Simply put, the Rangers have no answers for New Jersey’s power play.
And it’s not just domination over the Rangers either. After tonight’s contest, over their last 17 power plays, New Jersey has converted nine times. That’s a 53% success rate, which is out of this world. It’s a small sample size of course, and it won’t continue. But for a unit that struggled so much through huge portions of this season, it’s nice to see it back at the height of its powers.
The Devils continue their road trip on Friday when they travel to Washington to battle the Capitals. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.
What did you make of tonight’s game? Aside from the players we’ve already heaped praise on, what other Devils impressed you? What do you expect next time out against Washington? As always, thanks for reading!
For Nora Corthren, the work goes far beyond organizing events or telling stories. It’s about helping people see themselves in hockey.
As the NHL’s Manager of Content, Audience Development, and Social Impact, Corthren works at the crossroads of storytelling and community engagement, helping shine a spotlight on initiatives that make our game of hockey more welcoming and inclusive. From Pride programming to the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award and Hockey Fights Cancer, her role focuses on highlighting the people and organizations making a difference throughout the hockey world.
Over the past four years, Corthren has witnessed meaningful growth across the sport.
“It really has been wonderful to just see the hockey world continue to grow and develop and become more welcoming and more diverse and more inclusive,” she said.
Much of that progress comes from grassroots organizations working to create safe and welcoming spaces for players and fans from all backgrounds. Corthren’s job often involves identifying those stories and using the NHL’s platform to amplify them.
“I think it’s something that a lot of people who do the grassroots work of trying to make the game a more inclusive and welcoming space, they don’t do it for the attention,” she said. “They very much do it for the impact.”
That ability to elevate organizations and individuals making a difference has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work.
Among the initiatives closest to Corthren’s heart is the NHL’s continued involvement in Pride celebrations, including the annual New York City Pride March. For years, the league has marched alongside local hockey organizations and teams from across the New York metropolitan area, including the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Sirens, and New York Rangers.
For Corthren, the importance of that presence cannot be overstated. Seeing the NHL shield, the NHL teams’ logos, and even, yes, NJ Devil, are important parts of representation to a marginalized community.
A notorious mob hitman who once testified against John “Junior” Gotti before cleaning up his life and becoming a councilman in New Jersey has been arrested on extortion and loansharking charges that, if proven, reflect a return to the lifestyle of his youth.
John Alite, 63, was arrested on Friday in New Jersey, where he was sworn in early last year as a councilman in the borough of Englishtown. Released after a court appearance Saturday, Alite is scheduled to return to court for a detention hearing Wednesday.
His attorney, Douglas Anton, responding to an email seeking comment, said he did not want to speak about the case before the next court appearance.
Alite faces multiple counts of extortion, corporate misconduct, loansharking and terroristic threats.
Alite provided loans at exorbitant rates before threatening violence to collect on them, authorities said, citing the discovery in his home of metal knuckles, an expandable baton, six baseball bats and about two dozen knives, including switchblades.
The baseball bats, authorities said, included one stored near his home’s front door and five more in a kitchen storage bench.
An officer of the New Jersey State Police, an investigative arm of the attorney general’s office, said in court papers that it appeared that the weapons found in Alite’s residence were intended for use in collecting debts.
According to court papers, Alite had threatened one person he had lent money to, saying he would strike him across the head with a baseball bat if he didn’t meet his demands.
Alite also had bragged that he had in the past endeavored to “gut” people like “fish,” the court papers said.
In a release, prosecutors said Alite carried out crimes in part through his corporation, Straightened-Out Entertainment Inc.
They said he illegally obtained property and money from his victims by threats of violence in ways that reflected his 2009 testimony at a Gotti trial that ended with a deadlocked jury.
Alite told a Manhattan federal court jury that he killed a childhood friend to earn respect from fellow mobsters.
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The Garden State set a record for monthly iGaming revenue in May. Read how much for the biggest month ever in New Jersey iGaming.
New Jersey online casinos have been going strong all year, but May 2026 was especially notable. The Garden State’s iGaming market earned a record-breaking $276.3 million last month. This amount eclipsed the previous record of $273.2 million set in December 2025.
NJ online casino revenue for May 2026: $276.3 million
The $276.3 million earned in May 2026 represents an 11.9% year-over-year (YoY) increase from May 2025, when NJ online casinos earned $246.8 million.
This was yet another strong month and double-digit increase for New Jersey iGaming. The state had an identical 11.9% YoY uptick last month, when iCasinos made $263.1 million.
Year-to-date earnings for New Jersey gaming sites are $1.32 billion through May 2026. That’s up 14.4% compared to the same time period last year, when New Jersey had $1.16 billion through May 2025.
Golden Nugget enjoyed the strongest month
According to the May 2026 New Jersey iGaming revenue report, the Golden Nugget brand led all NJ iCasinos with $86.45 million. Of the three online casinos operating under Golden Nugget’s license, FanDuel made the most with $63.24 million from casino games online. BetRivers and Golden Nugget Online earned $12.43 million and $10.79 million, respectively.
Resorts Casino Hotel had the second-best month with $53.89 million. It doesn’t break down revenue by each online casino. But DraftKings is the biggest operator on this license on account of its progressive jackpot slots.
Retail casinos stay flat
Last month, brick-and-mortar casinos joined in the party with an 11.7% YoY increase. This month was a different story. New Jersey land-based casinos made $265.6 million in May 2026, just a 0.1% increase over the $256.3 million made the previous May.
The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa had the best month among NJ retail casinos, earning $72.9 million. Hard Rock Atlantic City also had a solid month with $49.9 million, while Ocean Resorts rounded out the top three with $46.8 million.
Sports betting sees a big revenue decrease
In April 2026, sports betting had the largest growth out of New Jersey gambling verticals with a 12.8% YoY increase. However, May 2026 was a different story since NJ bookmakers earned $85.2 million—a 16.9% decrease from the $102.5 million made in the previous May.
The Garden State isn’t an outlier here since other states, like New York and Pennsylvania, also struggled with sports gambling revenue last month. US sportsbooks largely saw a smaller hold in May 2026 and are also dealing with increased competition from prediction markets.
iGaming continues to lead the way
Total gaming revenue for the state was $627.1 million in May 2026, representing a 2.0% YoY increase from the $614.7 million made in the previous May.
iGaming definitely looks to carry the torch moving forward. Many gambling operators are banking on real-money online slots to boost their revenue, while retail casinos and sports betting are currently struggling.
Responsible gambling
Legal US online casinos promote responsible play by allowing players to limit losses, sessions, wagers, and logins. They also offer timeout options for account breaks lasting days to weeks. Self-exclusion is a long-term option that shuts off access to an account for months or years.
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