Siegs the Moment | COLUMN

NEW YORK, NY - In the playoffs, it's usually the unlikeliest of players that become the heroes.
With the Devils and Rangers tied at 1-1 in the third period, the next goal would prove decisive and propel their team to victory in a Game 4 showdown at Madison Square Garden.
And it wouldn't be Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko or Mika Zibanejad that would score it.
The hero would be a player that had never scored a playoff goal before. And a player who has seven goals in his entire career of 255 regular-season games.
That's right.
Jonas Siegenthaler, 25, ripped a perfect shot from the left faceoff dot, going far side off the post and in, to give the Devils the lead in an eventual 3-1 victory that evened their First Round playoff matchup at 2-2.

"Great shot. Good for him," forward Erik Haula said. "Playoffs are great. You never know who's going to be the hero on any given night."
"Good for him. We love that," Jack Hughes said. "That's playoffs. Everyone is going to have to chip in. I think he had 1 and 1."
Indeed, Siegenthaler did have 1 and 1, meaning one goal and one assist, for two points as well as a plus-2 in 22:01 minutes of ice time.
Siegenthaler wasn't just contributing to the offense. He was turning defense into offense. It was his play early in the game that gave New Jersey its first goal of the contest.
The Devils were scrambling in the defensive zone under some heavy Rangers' pressure. Goaltender Akira Schmid had to blocker away a shot from Kaapo Kakko. Just five seconds later Alexis Lafreniere re-directed a shot through the legs of Schmid. The puck trickled through the crease. New York's Tyler Motte reached for the puck to knock it across the goal line and two other Rangers were converging. But before they could reach the rubber, Siegenthaler lifted it out of danger with a backhand flip into the neutral zone.
Little did Siegenthaler know, Hughes was racing ahead for the puck. He collected it and went in for a breakaway, scoring on a nice deke to beat Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and give the Devils a 1-0 lead 2:50 minutes into the game.
"I just tried to get it out to be honest," Siegenthaler said of his desperation play. "I tried to flip it over the Rangers player and luckily (Hughes) was there."

Siegenthaler admitted not knowing where Hughes was. All he saw were three Rangers players crashing the net and the precarious positioning of the puck.
"I saw a lot of blue jerseys there," he said. "I just tried to go over all of them and Jack was there."
In fact, the play occurred in such rapid succession that Schmid didn't even see Hughes score the goal because he was still trying to find the puck that had been lifted out of danger.
"I was still scrambling trying to find the puck. It happened so quick," Schmid said. "Thank goodness 'Seigs' was there to help me out and make a great play."
"We were under siege there for a little bit," Haula said of the play. "Great apple (assist) there by Siegs from our, basically, goal line. It was a great break."
From under siege to over Siegs.
It was in the third period where Siegenthaler donned the hero cape once again. He started a play with a pass from his own zone and then alertly jumped into the the rush. Captain Nico Hischier entered the zone and made a cross-ice pass from atop the near circle to the far circle.
That's where Siegenthaler caught the puck. He drifted into the dot and then snapped a shot that went far side and between Shesterkin's pad and glove (the 7 hole).
"I knew as a D-man you have to move up and join the rush," he said. "I saw a hole and just tried to jump in there. Nico made an incredible play to me. I wasn't alone in front of the net, but almost. So, I just tried to shoot it low glove. And it went in."

The contribution from Siegenthaler was especially sweet considering he watched Game 2 as healthy scratch from the press box. From scratch to hero.
"It wasn't that fun the second game. I learned from it," he said. "I went over my first game. Clearly, I had to be more physical, a little harder. That's what I'm trying to do out there, be physical, be skating and be hard to play against."
And his head coach liked what he saw.
"His whole game (was better)," Lindy Ruff said. "Getting up with the play. His physicality down low. A lot more assertive. He gave us a heck of a game tonight on both sides of the puck."
"A good game for myself," Siegenthaler said.
When reinserting Siegenthaler into the lineup for Game 3 following his scratch, Ruff had a message for him: "I basically told him he'll be going back in. I need you to be better."
And better he's been. Tonight to the count of 1 and 1.
"That's a huge game out of him," Hughes smiled. "Just driving us."