Devils Dominate Rangers in 4-0 Win to Take 3-2 Series Lead

NEWARK, NJ – Akira Schmid became the first New Jersey Devils goaltender to win his first three playoff games as he stopped 23 shots against the New York Rangers in the team’s 4-0 shutout victory to take a 3-2 series lead in a pivotal Game 5 on Thursday night.

Devils forward Ondřej Palát, who played his best game by far of the series, opened the scoring 39 seconds into the game capitalizing on an opportunistic bounce to send Devils fans into a frenzy.

“(Getting that first goal) gave us a lot of confidence and energy,” explained Schmid, who boasts a .976 save percentage during the team’s three-game win streak. “Keeping that momentum throughout the game was important.”

“It’s amazing the fans are really loud they’re like a sixth player on the ice.”

The Devils outshot the Rangers 43-23 in their offensive onslaught while putting relentless pressure on Igor Shesterkin throughout the night.

Erik Haula added two goals and he had the assist on Dawson Mercer’s first career playoff goal, a scorching one-timer on the penalty kill in the second period. Mercer became the third player in franchise history to score his first career postseason goal in shorthanded fashion.

Special teams had been the Devils kryptonite in the first two games of the series, but they have killed off the last 12 of the Rangers power plays and that has been the most noticeable improvement in the team’s wins. A combination of suffocating defense and a willingness to sacrifice the body in the shooting lanes has limited the Rangers scoring chances on the power play.

“The penalty kill was a big part of our game tonight,” Mercer explained. “We had a lot of these chances throughout the season, and it was a good time to connect there.”

The Devils improbable rebound to get back in the series and take control puts the Rangers on the brink of elimination as the series heads back to Madison Square Garden on Saturday for Game 6.

“As the series goes on the hardest one to get is the fourth one to close a team out,” the 31-year-old veteran forward Haula suggested. “We know we’re going to get their best. We’re going to get everything they got so we need to start preparation now and get ready for Game 6.”

Momentum is clearly on the Devils side now, but they must remain levelheaded as they try to close out their first playoff series win in more than a decade. Coincidentally, that last playoff series win was against the Rangers.

“We can’t look too far ahead,” said Schmid. “We just have to take one game at a time.”