“ It’s Saturday at MSG in the playoffs. What more could you ask for?” - Curtis Lazar
The season was on the line. It was the biggest game in the burgeoning careers of the young Devils stars Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt, and rather than rely upon the veteran netminder Vitek Vanecek, who has become a cult hero among Devils fans and is the only Devils goalie not named Brodeur to win 30 games in a season, coach Lindy Ruff took a risk and inserted rookie Akira Schmid between the pipes.
Schmid delivered a masterful performance, saving 35 of 36 shots and stymying a power play that had shredded the Devils in the first two games. The advanced stats measured Schmid as saving over two goals above expected and stopping all seven high-danger chances for the Rangers. For the first time in the series the Devils goalie played at least even with Shesterkin and, likely outplayed the reigning Vezina winner.
Despite being admittedly nervous, Schmid exuded a calm, confident demeanor that has enabled the team around him to also remain calm.
Devils goaltender Akira Schmid was asked if he was nervous for tonight's game:
"Yes. Very." pic.twitter.com/H3uJrxPLaK
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 23, 2023
The team all clearly believed in Schmid:
“He’s stone cold, no pulse, always relaxed and poised, We have a lot of confidence in Schmid coming in.” - Jack Hughes
“He made those saves when we needed it. He played unbelievable for us. It was a big performance.” - Nico Hischier
““We had full confidence when we saw that he was playing,” - Dougie Hamilton
Ruff described a meeting on Friday with goalie coach Dave Rogalski, GM Tom Fitzgerald, and EVP for Hockey Operations Martin Brodeur where they all agreed that making a change in net was needed for Game three. He tasked Rogalski with informing the netminders of their status.
Akira described finding out on Friday after a team dinner and trying to stay in his routine to keep his nerves calm. “You know, you try to get some sleep in, and the next day is like any other day, morning skate and then take your nap, get ready for the game"
There is no question when he took the ice that he was ready. "He's showed a lot of poise for a young man to come into this building and play," Ruff said about Schmid. "He has that demeanor. He's had it all year long. There's not a lot that bothers him."
He was tested early, coming up big stopping Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers first power play six minutes into the game. All year Schmid’s skill has been deceptive as his calmness belies his skill and is this in large part due to his positioning. Schmid never seems frantic and rarely over pursues making it look like he is not forced to make difficult saves when in reality his size and positioning make the saves manageable.
While Ruff was non-committal, it is impossible to believe that Schmeedo as he’s called by Hughes won’t be the first player onto the ice for warmups on Monday night. He has built to this all season being statistically the best goalie on the roster posting a 2.13 GAA and a save percentage of .922 over 18 games. His success in the 2-1 win in Game three was not a fluke and the Devils will need him to play to that level should they want to even the series on Monday.
DOUGIE CLUTCH
Not only did Dougie Hamilton set the Devils record for most goals in a season by a defenseman, but nearly a third of his goals were game winners, with two overtime game winners in the regular season. Hamilton led defenseman league wide this season in game winning and overtime goals, so when the Devils entered the extra session in Game Three he was one of the most likely heroes.
Being mostly silenced by the Rangers emphasis on suffocating the blue line by blocking shots, Hamilton came through when his team needed him most.
"I think there were a couple of bodies in front, so I was just trying to be patient when I got the puck and saw a little spot to shoot at, and luckily I hit it," Hamilton said about the game-winning goal.
ELECTRIC! 🤩 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/HWtBDAXZJG
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2023
It was Hamilton’s first goal of the series, and the Devils first goal at even strength in 192 minutes against the Rangers. The lack of 5v5 scoring did not go unnoticed by the players and will be the key to getting even in the series as the Devils have a distinct 5v5 advantage (75% of the high danger chances at 5v5 were for the Devils)
SPECIAL TEAMS
For the first time in the series, the Devils won the special teams battle. Jack Hughes was able to rifle a wrist shot past Shesterkin as Ondrej Palat set a flash screen in front. Palat being there was certainly fortuitous as he was filling in for Meier, who was getting looked at in the locker room. The goal seemed to relax Hughes who had been pressing up to that point and was able to settle into the game.
Alright, that's a sweet release. 🎯 #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/54FfarYDuO
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/TVdJNrxm98 #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/eMMBzeRPt8— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2023
The biggest obstacle for the Devils in game three was of their own making. They took a parade of offensive zone penalties handing the Rangers five power play opportunities. Fortunately, they were able to kill off all five. Addressing the power play goals was foremost in the minds of many of the Devils.
“Their power play is elite. It takes a lot of focus. It takes a lot of effort. We have to be really dialed in to be able to do the job. You know we wanted to be better we really thoroughly watched, everything that they do,” Erik Haula said.
Defenseman John Marino felt that the large amount of power plays they have faced may have ultimately helped them as they have now seen the full repertoire.
“We had a long meeting about the penalty kill the other day and we needed more communication. It's crazy to say, but they scored so many goals, we got to see so many looks I think that actually helped us tonight," Marino said about the Devils' power play.
New acquisition Curtis Lazar was excited to be immediately thrust into the penalty kill in his first action of the series. “Very happy coach put me in a penalty kill role right away shows that he trusts me but again, it's a team effort,” Lazar said about the penalty kill.
He also spoke about trying to get the unit back to basics, “[w]e got back to what made these guys an effective kill all year here... They got a few good looks today but we dug in there.”
Lazar also said that the unit understands that when playing the Rangers, they will give up chances, “They got five pretty skilled guys out there kicking around, you hold the middle, identify your guy and try and talk, take the chance but again, it's a game of opportunity they got theirs we did our best to shut it down.”
Thus far, the winner of the special teams battle has won every game in the series. Shutting out the Rangers and getting a power play goal of their own is the best sign that the Devils are able to make this a long series.
MINDSET
While often described as a young, inexperienced team, more than half the roster has playoff experience and the veteran leaders in the room decided that there needed to be a clearing of the air. Haula described a conscious change to play more patient. “I don't know if something changed. But we talked with the players and we had some good things and we flipped the script a little bit in our mindset. So just being patient, playing our game and not giving too much.”
Lazar similarly mentioned a change in the team’s mindset heading on the road, “We talked a lot about it yesterday and last night and whatnot. We're a good team, we're here for a reason. Just weren't playing up to our abilities. And you can almost see that maturity grow overnight we came in here with that mindset that we're going to take that next step.”
What's Next For Devils
Game 4 is Monday night at MSG. Puck Drop is 7:00 p.m.
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