Cory Schneider Lifts Devils to Game 3 Victory Over Lightning

NEWARK, NJ – After falling behind in the first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0, the New Jersey Devils turned to goaltender Cory Schneider, starting in place of Keith Kinkaid, to provide a defensive spark against an offense that had scored 10 goals in the first two games. Schneider held the NHL’s top-scoring team to only two goals on 36 shots as the Devils defeated Tampa Bay 5-2 in the team’s first home playoff game in six years.

Schneider, who earned his first win since December 27, received a thunderous ovation from the sellout crowd as his name was announced in the starting lineup. Shortly thereafter, chants of “Cory” could be heard across the arena before the game’s opening faceoff.

“The fans were awesome all night long,” Schneider said in the locker room after the game. “Hearing that chant myself meant a lot to me. They were loud from the drop of the puck to the final horn and that definitely helped us out tonight.”

Although he was winless in his previous 12 starts (0-10-2), that did not discourage his confidence entering the game.

“It’s a new season – you can’t really carry anything into it good or bad,” Schneider explained. “It doesn’t matter what’s happened or how you played coming in. Everything can change in a moment’s notice. I’m just trying to enjoy it and contribute to helping this team win in any way that I could.

“You’re only as good as your next one so if I come back and play the next game I have to be better than I was tonight.”

As they’ve been successful all series, the Lightning struck first early in the second period on an Alex Killorn power play goal off a centering pass in front of the net from Nikita Kucherov, capitalizing on an Andy Greene slashing penalty.

With their backs to the wall and down by a goal, the Devils were tasked with killing off yet another power play. Up until that point, Tampa Bay had been successful on four of their five man-advantage opportunities in the series.

Devils forward Blake Coleman came up big on the penalty kill and was a scoring threat throughout the Lightning’s power play at the halfway point. A would-be game-tying goal was negated as the net got dislodged before Coleman knocked in the rebound. Less than a minute later, it was Coleman and teammate Pavel Zacha who found themselves on an odd-man rush, but could not get the puck by Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Nonetheless, they were able to kill off the John Moore penalty. In the post-game press conference, Devils coach John Hynes said that penalty kill led by Coleman was the “momentum turning point in the game.”

Less than a minute after successfully defending against the power play, Devils forward and Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall scored on a slap shot off a rebound to tie up the game.

Hall would add two assists on goals in the third period, including the game-winner on a one-timer pass to forward Stefan Noesen. With the three-point night, Hall became the first Devils player to accomplish that feat in the postseason since Zach Parise in Game 4 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers, according to NHL Public Relations.

“The intensity in this series has ramped us as every game has gone on,” Hall said. “We have a job to do next game, but it’s great to see us get on the board and hopefully gain some confidence from how we played (tonight). We’re still down 2-1, but it’s a nice start for us.”

Following the go-ahead goal, the Devils added two empty netters from Coleman and defenseman Ben Lovejoy.

The Devils limited the Lightning to two goals on five power play opportunities in the game, which is an improvement on the previous two games.

“Coming in to this game the special teams were going to be a big factor for us to win,” Hynes said. “The team fed off the penalty kill tonight and I thought they did a good job.”

The Devils will look to tie the series back up on Wednesday evening as they host the Lightning for Game 4 at the Prudential Center. Puck drop for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.