Devils use speed, skill to dominate in Game 5 win

NEWARK, N.J.-- That was the New Jersey Devils at their best.

Speed all over the ice. Forcing turnovers and attacking. Clean breakouts. Excellent puck-handling. Power-play prowess. Penalty-kill dominance. And, of course, strong goaltending, now from Akira Schmid.
The Devils put it all on display against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Prudential Center on Thursday.
They won 4-0
behind 23 saves from Schmid, their 22-year-old rookie who is the first goalie in franchise history to win his first three career starts in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the ninth in NHL history to allow two goals or fewer in his first three career postseason starts.
It could have been 8-0 or worse. It was that one-sided.
The Devils lead the best-of-7 series, 3-2.
"We wanted to make sure tonight we were ready for the get go and played our best game of the series," New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said. "I think we've done that."
RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]
They have one more to go and they'll all say the same thing, that they have to be better in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS2) because the Rangers will not go down quietly, which should be the case.
But if the Devils can be even a hair better than they were in Game 5, my goodness there might be nothing that stops them this season.
They outshot the Rangers 43-23, including 20-2 in the third period at a time when all they had to do was simply protect a 3-0 lead.
"That was our plan, don't sit back, just keep going with what we were doing," Hischier said. "We had success with it, so don't change anything."
They blocked 24 shots.
"The boys have been playing phenomenal in front of me," Schmid said. "Not a lot of work for me. I can't give the boys enough credit."
New Jersey scored at even strength 39 seconds into the game (Ondrej Palat), on the power play at 3:27 of the second period (Erik Haula) and short-handed off a 2-on-1 rush at 13:32 of the second (Dawson Mercer).
Haula added an empty-net goal at 14:48 of the third period. He also had an assist on Mercer's goal.
"I really think we played with a lot of pace, played with a lot of speed, we handled the puck well," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "The play that was most evident was our plays exiting the zone, they were all on the tape and our puck support was really good."

That it took this long in this column to get to Schmid's influence on the game is all you need to know about how the Devils played in front of him.
But make no mistake, he is a huge part of this.
There was his highlight-reel glove save on Artemi Panarin when it was still 1-0 at 9:11 of the first period. He went right to left to stop Kaapo Kakko in the slot at 3:53 of the second, then stopped Mika Zibanejad point blank from the high slot at 15:14.
"He's making it look so easy," Hischier said. "We were joking, check his pulse after the game. It just seems like he's never losing his mind or never losing his focus. He makes those saves look easy and that obviously gives a push to the team and gives confidence to the team."
The Devils turned to Schmid to start Game 3 after they got blitzed in their own building in Games 1 and 2, losing by identical 5-1 scores behind Vitek Vanecek.
"That had nothing to do with Vitek, that had to do with the group," Ruff said. "The group didn't play well in front of him. I mean, realistically we took a shot at it for Game 3 and the whole group realized that in defense of Vitek we needed to play better. We needed to handle the puck. We needed to play our game. I really feel the group did."
They became a different team, starting with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 3, following with a 3-1 regulation win in Game 4, leading to their near flawless performance in Game 5.
Schmid's poise in net has had a big influence, but the fact that the Devils have self-corrected after looking completely lost for two games is a true testament to what this team is all about.
A lot of times that self-correction comes too late and early series struggles turn into a learning experience for next season.
For the Devils, it was a learning experience for this series, and maybe for a long playoff run this year.
"Growing is a great way to put it," Haula said. "Coming into the year we had a lot of talent, we had good pieces, and then you start the season and we've gotten better. We've learned a lot. We've grown as a team. Even during the playoff series we've taken steps. It's a lot of credit to all the younger players of realizing what it takes to win and doing the right things. We've really come together here in the playoffs now and it shows on the ice."