3 Keys: Rangers at Devils, Game 5 of Eastern 1st Round

(3M) Rangers at (2M) Devils
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 5
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2
7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN 2, SN360, TVAS2, MSGSN, MSG

NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils will look to win their third straight against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Prudential Center on Thursday.
The Devils defeated the Rangers 3-1 in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on Monday to even the best-of-7 series. The loss didn't sit well with New York coach Gerard Gallant, who expects a better effort from his players.
"The group has got to pick it up," Gallant said. "When your team plays well, usually your stars play well. That's the biggest thing with us. We've got to get 20 guys playing well and doing the right things, playing the game the right way."
The Devils want to have a road-game mentality in front of what should be a boisterous and excited home crowd. They were outscored by the Rangers 10-2 in consecutive 5-1 losses in Games 1 and 2 at Prudential Center.
"I think in the first two games we were over-excited or tried to do too much and that sometimes knocks your timing off," Devils captain Nico Hischier said. "I think after four games our nerves are down and players will start to play their game better."
RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]
The winner of Game 5 when a best-of-7 series is tied 2-2 holds an all-time series record of 224-61 (.786), including a 5-3 mark in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are 3 keys to Game 5:

1. New York power outage

The Rangers looked like world-beaters on the power play in Games 1 and 2, going 4-for-10 with forward Chris Kreider scoring all four off redirections and deflections, on the way to a 2-0 series lead. They struggled at home, however, going 0-for-8 with 10 shots on goal in Games 3 and 4.
"This time of year it's so detail-orientated," said Devils forward Curtis Lazar, who has averaged 1:31 of short-handed ice time during the series. "You have to have good sticks, be more aggressive when there's an opportunity to pressure and get in on their hands. They're going to get their looks, so we need to be prepared for if we do give something up, how do we limit that, jump all over it and get it down the ice."

2. Getting to Schmid

Akira Schmid's impact on the Devils since supplanting Vitek Vanecek as starter in Game 3 has been a huge talking point. He's stopped 57 of 59 shots (.966 save percentage), including all 10 against eight New York power-play opportunities.
The Rangers had 23 shots on goal and 50 shot attempts in Game 4. There's a sense within the locker room, however, that they haven't really tested the Devils rookie goalie enough.
"We've gotten away from that these last two games ... fighting those blue-paint battles, getting inside and playing on the inside," New York defenseman K'Andre Miller said. "When our forwards are at their best, they're doing those little things, getting to the front of the net, winning those net-front battles and coming out with pucks on the right side. We know what we can clean up. We know what we have to do to bring our level back to what it was those first two games."

3. Neutralizing the Rangers

New Jersey wants to continue to frustrate New York in the neutral zone by clogging passing lanes and stick-checking when the opportunity is there.
"I think we can probably do a better job of not letting them get set in the neutral-zone forecheck," Zibanejad said. "They've succeeded with what they want to do, and we haven't really succeeded in what we want to do to get through the neutral zone, so it's a combination of things. For us, it's just be more detailed and helping each other out, go from there."
Said Devils coach Lindy Ruff, "It's a tough task because they've got some good speed with Zibanejad and Kreider, and [Filip Chytil] is a great skater too. You don't want to get caught flat-footed. I thought our guys did a lot better job and it was probably a reason we were able to limit a lot of the opportunities."

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Patrick Kane
Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trocheck -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Alexis Lafreniere
-- Filip Chytil -- Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey -- Barclay Goodrow -- Tyler Motte
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Niko Mikkola -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Ben Harpur, Jonny Brodzinski, Jake Leschyshyn, Libor Hajek
Injured: None

Devils projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula -- Jack Hughes -- Ondrej Palat
Tomas Tatar -- Michael McLeod -- Dawson Mercer
Jesper Boqvist -- Curtis Lazar -- Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves -- John Marino
Kevin Bahl -- Damon Severson
Akira Schmid
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Brendan Smith, Luke Hughes, Miles Wood, Yegor Sharangovich, Mackenzie Blackwood
Injured: None

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate. ... Severson practiced Thursday and is expected to play after missing practice Wednesday for maintenance. … Neither team is expected to make lineup changes from Game 4.