Rangers eliminated after failing to sustain momentum in 1st-round series

The New York Rangers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the New Jersey Devils, losing 4-0 in Game 7 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round on Monday.

The Rangers (47-22-13) were the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. They finished the regular season five points behind the Devils, who had five more wins (52).

New York was in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season after reaching the Eastern Conference Final last year before losing in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Rangers were also one of the biggest buyers before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, adding forwards Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko in separate trades.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Vladimir Tarasenko, F; Patrick Kane, F; Tyler Motte, F; Niko Mikkola, D; Jaroslav Halak, G

Potential restricted free agents: Alexis Lafreniere, F; K'Andre Miller, D; Libor Hajek, D

Potential 2023 Draft picks: 4

Here are five reasons the Rangers were eliminated:

1. Couldn't sustain momentum after first two games

The Rangers were in control of the series two games in. They won Games 1 and 2 at Prudential Center by identical 5-1 scores. They had four power-play goals. Their top players were scoring.

They were so good through two games that the Devils switched goalies for Game 3, inserting 22-year-old rookie Akira Schmid into the series to start after Vitek Vanecek was in net for the first two.

The Rangers lost 2-1 in overtime in Game 3, an even game that could have gone either way. Then they played their worst game of the series in Game 4, losing 3-1. They were beaten soundly in Game 5, 4-0, came back to play well again in Game 6, a 5-2 win, but again couldn't score in Game 7.

"Maybe we took our foot off the gas when we got a 2-0 lead and gave them a little momentum," Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. "When we played well you saw the score was indicative of it."

2. Struggled with the Devils' speed

The Rangers won Games 1 and 2 because they forced the Devils to play slow, or at least much slower than they wanted to play.

The Devils came back in the series because they got to their game and overwhelmed the Rangers at times with their speed all over the ice.

The Rangers struggled in Games 3, 4, 5 and 7 to get clean entries into the offensive zone. They had no answer for the Devils aggressive forecheck. They were not winning races to pucks nor puck battles along the walls.

It's hard for a team to score when it can't generate opportunities or sustain puck possession in the offensive zone. In the Rangers' four losses, the Devils were faster, more aggressive and in control.

"We had a good team, I liked our team, but the team we played was a very fast team and they took it to us at times during the series with their speed," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said.

RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]

3. Panarin's struggles

Artemi Panarin had two assists in Game 1 and did not get his name on the scoresheet for the rest of the series, going six straight games without a point for the first time in the NHL.

There were other Rangers players who struggled to score. Mika Zibanejad had one goal after scoring 39 in the regular season. Kane had one goal. So did Vincent Trocheck, his only point in the series. Alexis Lafreniere didn't have a point.

Panarin, though, led the Rangers with 92 points in the regular season but was neither effective nor productive enough against the Devils.

He had only 15 shots on goal in the series, barely two per game.

4. Power play went silent

The Rangers had four power play goals on their first seven chances in the series. Then they didn't score on 14 straight before finally cashing in at 19:35 of the first period in Game 6.

They were 0-for-5 with six shots on goal in Game 3, 0-for-3 with four shots in Game 4 and 0-for-2 with four shots in Game 5. They capped the series by going 0-for-4 with three shots in Game 7, when they couldn't score on three power-play opportunities in the first period and allowed Devils forward Mike McLeod to score a crushing shorthanded goal in the second period.

5. Let Schmid off easy

The Devils were down after two games and coach Lindy Ruff later admitted they were just taking a shot by putting Schmid in to start Game 3. He did not know how it would go with the rookie.

It obviously went well. Schmid won four of the next five games with two shutouts, a 1.38 goals-against average and .951 save percentage. However, the Rangers didn't exactly make it very tough on him either.

From Game 3 on they talked about the need to get more traffic in front of Schmid and get more shots toward him. It was a constant refrain, but the Rangers couldn't quite get to that game.

The Rangers had 36 shots on goal in Game 3, which went to overtime. They had 23 in Games 4 and 5. They scored five goals on 29 shots in Game 6, but had 18 shots through two periods in Game 7 and were down 2-0. They had 13 in the third and couldn't get one in.