Seven seconds. 

That was all it took Monday night for the Rangers — the resilient version we came to know from last season — to barge their way back into a game that seemed to be long gone early in the first period. Flashes of the 2021-22 team that routinely pulled off this kind of rally shined through as the Rangers ultimately secured a 4-3 victory in overtime against the dominating Devils and extended their win streak to a season-high four games. 

The Devils haven’t lost two games in a row since their first two contests of the season, but the Rangers made it happen. 

“It means a lot,” said Filip Chytil, who took a pass from Artemi Panarin and buried it stick side past Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek 2:15 into the extra period. “Great comeback from the team. We showed our character. Good two points.” 

Despite a late goal from Chris Kreider in the first period, the Rangers barely showed any signs of life in the opening 20 minutes after Igor Shesterkin gave up two goals on the Devils’ first six shots. And when Jack Hughes roofed a filthy backhander to give the Devils a 3-1 lead just over halfway through the middle frame, it appeared to be the kind of goal to which teams often can’t respond. 

The Rangers, however, had a rather swift reply. The type that they coined all of last season. 

With Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the box for interference, Vincent Trocheck tipped in a Fox wrister to cut the Devils’ lead to one. The celebratory goal song had barely ended at the Garden before a stellar passing sequence from the youngsters ended with a game-tying goal from Kaapo Kakko — and then a dog-pile celebration that Alexis Lafreniere toppled over out of pure elation. 

The two goals in seven seconds tied for the seventh-fastest pair of goals in franchise history. It also marked the Rangers’ second multi-goal comeback win of the season. 

“You could see the emotion from the guys on the ice,” Fox said. “I saw Laf tripping over everyone on the pile. You don’t see that all the time on just a goal, but when you’re able to come back from 3-1 that quickly and the crowd gets really into it, I think it’s a big momentum swing.” 

Not only did the Rangers stack their fourth win in a row, but they prevented the Devils from tying the NHL record of 12 straight victories on the road. Stringing wins together hasn’t been the Rangers’ strength this season by any means. To set a new season high against arguably this season’s Team to Watch should do something for their confidence. 

That’s at the very top of the Rangers’ priority list at this point. Just three short weeks ago, team morale was in a completely different place. The Rangers can only continue to work toward reestablishing their tenacity and will to win. This come-from-behind victory over the Devils is certainly the kind of game that’ll allow them to do so. 

“It’s a big one,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “They’re a good team. They’ve got a good record. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. Hopefully, this will give us some confidence.”