NEWARK, N.J. — Taylor Hall and rookie Will Butcher scored two goals apiece, and the New Jersey Devils moved to the brink of their first playoff berth since 2012 with a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

New Jersey moved within two points of ending its playoff drought by winning its third straight game.

Travis Zajac ignited a three-goal first period with a tap-in tally 25 seconds after the opening faceoff, and Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves in a game decided by the power play. Butcher, who had never scored more than once in a game, got both with the Devils enjoying an extra skater, while Hall scored his first on a power play and got his 39th of the season on a second-period penalty shot that easily beat Henrik Lundqvist.

Ryan Spooner and Kevin Hayes scored for the Rangers, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Lundqvist made 39 saves.

This rivalry game was seemingly over in the opening 10:40 when New Jersey scored three times.

Zajac started the roll by carrying the puck from his own end into the Rangers’ zone and dropping a pass to Blake Coleman. The forward flubbed his shot, but the puck deflected off the stick of Chris Kreider and to Zajac who tucked it into an open net.

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Hall got his 38th after the Rangers failed to clear a puck in front of stick-less Lundqvist.

Butcher scored from the right point 70 seconds after Rangers defenseman John Gilmour was penalized for shooting the puck into the crowd.

ISLANDERS 5, FLYERS 4: Mathew Barzal had two goals and an assist, including the go-ahead score after New York gave up a three-goal lead in the third period, and the host Islanders beat playoff-chasing Philadelphia.

John Tavares also scored twice and Anthony Beauvillier added a goal and two assists to help the Islanders get their third win in eight games, but just the fourth in their past 20 (4-12-4). Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots.

Nolan Patrick had two goals and an assist, Claude Giroux added a goal and an assist, and Wayne Simmonds also scored for Philadelphia, which squandered a chance to move closer to clinching a playoff spot. Petr Mrazek finished with 32 saves while falling to 6-6-3 in 15 games since being acquired from Detroit.

The Islanders appeared to take control with a three-goal second period to take a 4-1 lead, but the Flyers – who were 5-0-3 in their previous eight – tied it with three goals in a nine-minute stretch of the third.

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BLUE JACKETS 5, RED WINGS 4: Pierre Luc-Dubois scored in overtime to lift host Columbus over Detroit, keeping its playoff plans on track.

Artemi Panarin tied it for Columbus when he put back his own rebound late in the third period. That set the stage for Dubois’ shot from the slot 2:55 into the extra period.

The Blue Jackets are trying to get to the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.

NOTES

BLUES: Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson will miss at least six months after surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.

PREDATORS: Nashville signed goaltender Niclas Westerholm to a three-year, entry-level contract that begins in 2018.

SHARKS: San Jose signed free-agent forward Lukas Radil to a one-year contract.


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