Bratt has a goal, 3 assists, the Devils move past the Rangers

Dawson Mercer made it 2-0 at 7:10 when he collected the puck from a blocked shot above the left faceoff circle and sent it over the other side before hitting a shot from the other side from the right circle went into the goal from the inside of Shesterkin’s right pad.

“It has to be sharper at first when we step on the ice for the first time,” Laviolette said. “Whether it’s the effort or the execution, it has to be better from the start. It needs to be more consistent throughout the game. What we are doing is not good enough.”

The Devils killed a Hamilton penalty at 9:16 by stopping five shots, including four from Zibanejad’s stick, in a 30-second span after Pesce’s stick broke.

Pesce had three of the blocks. Bratt and Haula had the other two. Markstrom finished the game with a save from Kreider after a pass from the left post.

Bratt had a shorthanded breakaway early in the kill.

“When it came time to get involved, stand in front of the players and eat some of those pucks, I thought the guys did great,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “There are a number of people who sustained their wounds here tonight. They stood their ground.”

Hamilton extended the lead to 3-0 with a 5-on-3 power play goal at 9:04 of the second period. He scored on a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Jack Hughes with two seconds left in the 5-on-3 game.

Jack Hughes made it 4-0 at 12:38 with a spin shot off the rebound of his brother Luke’s shot from the left point.

Kreider’s power play goal at 13:29 made the score 4-1, but Jack Hughes scored on a 4-on-3 power play at 18:56 to extend New Jersey’s lead to 5-1.

“I liked the way we went out there and when the power play gave us the opportunity to score, we did it,” Keefe said. “Those goals and the ability to extend the lead were really important for us tonight. On the other hand, they are a team that we know can score a lot and they have a lot on our heels tonight, but to have that lead you need a little wind out of your sails .”

NOTES: Bratt’s four points gave him 35 for the season, fifth in the NHL, three fewer than league leader Kirill Kaprizov (38). … Kreider’s power-play goal was the 114th of his career and is now two shy of Camille Henry’s franchise record of 116. … Devils forward Nathan Legare made his NHL debut, logging 11:42 and finishing with two shots from goal and six hits. He was recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League before Monday’s game. Legare grew up watching Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere. … Mike Hardman also made his season and Devils debut after being recalled from Utica with Legare. He played 8:24. … Rangers forward Brett Berard (upper body) did not play for the first time in five games since being recalled from Hartford of the AHL on Nov. 24.