Rangers top Devils in overtime on fourth-liner Sam Carrick's goal

The only constant is change, an ideology that the Rangers have become far too accustomed to over the course of the 2024-25 season.

A day that began with coach Peter Laviolette announcing once again another reconfiguration to the Rangers lineup ended with a 3-2 overtime win over the Devils on Thursday night at the Garden.

Sam Carrick’s goal with 2:12 left in overtime gave the Rangers a much-needed victory.

The fourth-line center one-timed a 2-on-1 feed from Reilly Smith for his third of the season.

Entering the game against the Devils, Laviolette reconstructed his lineup once again due to the upper-body injury suffered by Filip Chytil late in the second period of Tuesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Stars.

Arthur Kaliyev, whom the Rangers claimed off of waivers from the Kings Monday, drew into the lineup and began the game skating on the third line with centerman Jonny Brodzinski and Brett Berard. Will Cuylle was promoted to the second line with Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith, while Matt Rempe made up one-third of the fourth line with Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom.

The game was Rempe’s first since serving an eight-game suspension for elbowing Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20. It was also his first match against the Devils since the Rangers’ 4-3 win over their Hudson River rival on April 3, 2024, which began with a line brawl at the opening puck drop.

Just as he did that night, Igor Shesterkin (21 saves) started in net for the Rangers. This time it was his first game action since the Rangers’ 5-3 loss to the Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Dec. 30. The franchise goaltender had missed the last four contests with an upper-body injury.

The Rangers led 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes, arguably one of the best periods they have played this season.

It appeared as if the Devils took a 1-0 lead 5:50 into the game but replays showed Luke Hughes’ shot from the left circle hit the crossbar but never crossed the goal line.

For a team that has spent much of this season trying to play catch-up, the waived-off goal was a bit of good fortune that paid dividends when Adam Fox scored a power0play goal at 12:05 of the first. With Kurtis MacDermid serving a two-minute minor for interfering with Ryan Lindgren, Fox hammered a slap shot over Jacob Markstrom’s (30 saves) right pad.

They had a lead. They couldn’t sustain it.

Jack Hughes tied it 1-1 4:03 into the second period with his 16th of the season. He was camped out in front of Shesterkin and redirected Brett Pesce’s point shot past the goaltender.

The Rangers fell behind 2-1 4:25 after Hughes’ goal when Jesper Bratt lasered a snap shot between Shesterkin’s right pad and blocker to complete a sequence which began with Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton knocking Cuylle to the ice in the neutral zone to spark the counterattack.

Immediately following the goal, Alexis Lafreniere was penalized for high-sticking Timo Meier to put the Rangers on the penalty kill. Where the Rangers turned a golden opportunity to tie the game into arguably the most bizarre moment of the season, as Smith attempted a drop pass to Vincent Trocheck on a two-on-none shorthanded breakaway instead of shooting the puck. The result was Trocheck’s in-tight wrister hit the post.

The one-goal deficit held until Artemi Panarin’s power play rebound goal with 2:47 left in the period. Panarin one-timed the rebound of Zibanejad’s point shot from the left circle past a diving Markstrom for his 17th of the season.

The game remained tied 2-2 until Carrick’s game-winner. The Rangers outshot the Devils, 8-3, over the first 12 minutes of the third but the two best chances in that time were the shorthanded shots fired by Dawson Mercer and Bratt.