- The Devils held a 6-1 edge in shots on goal after 10 minutes of play. New Jersey opened the game with dominance and a will, as their lives depended on it, skating several circles around the Rangers.
- Three penalties in the first period were not an ideal start to the game, especially after specifically talking this morning about the need to stay out of the penalty box. The only positive with taking those penalties was that the penalty killers got the job done and limited the Rangers to just two shots. One of those shots was a blast on reception from Mika Zibanejad was stopped with a stunning glove save that got the crowd out of their seats.
The save was absolutely vital by Schmid who ended a sequence by the Rangers power play that forced a shift of 1:18 for penalty killers Nico Hischier, Yegor Sharangovich, Ryan Graves and John Marino. As the time was ticking by, you could start to see the effects of a long shift about to take hold, but Akira's save stopped the play allowing the PKers to switch off after an exhaustive shift.
- The Devils penalty killers went 4-for-4 tonight.
- If you've ever wondered why Ondrej Palat was a free agent the Devils targeted in the off-season, look no further than his individual effort Michael McLeod's opening goal of the game. He created the play that led to the goal, forcing defenseman Adam Fox to fumble the puck along the boards and getting his stick between Fox and Chris Kreider, he dug the puck out and immediately headed to the net. Palat saucered the pass over to Mike McLeod, with an incoming Zibanejad trying to take away the passing lane.
Igor Shesterkin stretched out and found himself out of position while McLeod still maintained control of the puck and was able to find the space to sweep it into the net giving the Devils the 1-0 lead.
"It was four-on-four I don't even know what I was doing out there," McLeod laughed. "Pally is awesome," McLeod said, "he's obviously a warrior, he battles and shows up at big times like that."
- Post-game, Palat shared these comments about how he has seen the team grow and accomplish another successful step in their season:
"I mean, just to see the team grow from Game 1 and 2, it's pretty impressive how quick we adapted," Palat said, "we changed our game game a little bit. I'm very impressed about our team, how we responded. We never gave up."
- Another great individual effort led to the second Devils goal. This time it was John Marino. His drive to the net cut across Shesterkin's crease and went forehand, backhand but the puck went wide of the net. Marino kept with the puck in the corner and offered up an incredible backhand pass to Tomas Tatar who was streaking through the center of the ice. The puck ended up perfectly on Tatar's blade, who wired it past Shesterkin to give the Devils an important 2-0 lead.
"It was an amazing move, I actually thought for a second he scored," Tatar said. "After I saw he continued with the play I just tried to get ready and he just shoveled the puck right to me. It was awesome, great play by him. I think a great performance by everyone."
Tweet from @NJDevils: Johnny Hockey tees up Tuna for the tally and celly. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/u8Ept9A4VU
- Hischier picked up his fifth assist of the series on the Tatar goal. His five assists are the fourth most that a Devils skater has earned in a single playoff series against New York. Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner each had six in 2005-06 while Peter Stastny had seven in 1991-92.
- Timo Meier left the game midway through the third period after Rangers captain Jacob Trouba laid him out with a massive hit that left Meier laying on the ice for several moments. Meier was tended to by the Devils team trainer before leaving the ice. There was no penalty on the play, but Lindy Ruff was adamant behind the bench calling for an elbowing penalty.
