Hall shines for Devils in Game 3 against Lightning

NEWARK, N.J. -- Taylor Hall had waited a long time to hear the roar of the crowd, to feel this particular set of nerves while standing on the blue line at the start of a home game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hall, who is in his eighth season, wasn't going to let that good memory slip through his hands, getting three points (one goal, two assists) for the New Jersey Devils in a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Prudential Center on Monday.
Game 4 is here on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; GOLF, SN, TVAS2, MSG+, SUN).

RELATED: *[Lightning vs. Devils Game 3 Recap* | Complete Lightning vs. Devils series coverage]
"It was everything we could ask for," Hall said. "I didn't know what the atmosphere was going to be like and it was just awesome. I had no idea how our fans were going to react. It wasn't the greatest start to the game for us, but we hung in there and I think our fans really pushed us over the edge. We found a way."
The Devils fell behind 1-0 and 2-1, but each time Hall helped pull his team back before things could get away from New Jersey as they had in Tampa.
After Alex Killorn gave the Lightning the early lead, Hall scored five-hole on Andrei Vasilevskiy with a slap shot from the slot to tie it 1-1 at 12:24 of the second period.
Stamkos scored Tampa Bay's second power-play goal 38 seconds into the third period to give the Lightning the lead back, but New Jersey responded.
Hall passed to Will Butcher at the right point during a 5-on-3, and the rookie defenseman scored his first playoff goal, shooting it past a screened Vasilevskiy to tie it 2-2 at 4:03.

At 12:55, Hall made a cross-ice pass to Stefan Noesen, who scored on a one-timer to give the Devils their first lead of the series, 3-2.
In total, Hall played 22:45, second on the team to Travis Zajac, and had a game-high six shots and 10 shot attempts. He was dangerous virtually every time he touched the puck, and sometimes even when he didn't.
"He stepped up when we needed him the most and that is what great players do," said Devils forward Marcus Johansson, who played in his first game since Jan. 23 because of a concussion (37 games).
Devils forward Blake Coleman was also a factor in the game, blocking shots, hounding Tampa Bay physically, and scoring a shorthanded empty-net goal.

Coleman said he noticed the way Hall was playing and wanted to match his effort as best he could.
"Taylor Hall is Taylor Hall to me every night. He is a professional and one of the best players on the ice every night, day in and day out," Coleman said. "He scores big goals and he is our emotional leader, and he is the reason we are here, and he is the reason we continue to move [along] here. It's almost expected from him now, and I am happy to see him keep getting rewarded. He wants this, and I know he wants to win, and it makes it easy to play for him."
Hall has been dynamic in each of his first three postseason games. New Jersey has eight non-empty net goals against Tampa Bay, and Hall has played a part in five of them (two goals, three assists). He continues to exhibit the form that has him in the conversation for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best player, when he scored 93 points (39 goals and 54 assists) in 76 games in the regular season.
Each time Hall made a play on Monday, the Prudential Center crowd, enjoying playoff hockey for the first time in six seasons, chanted "MVP. MVP. MVP."

"He's a tremendous competitor. This is something I think he takes a lot of pride in was not only getting us to the playoffs, but it's one of those things when you look at our team, you can ask, 'Are they just happy to be in the playoffs, or are they just happy to get in?'" Devils coach John Hynes said. "This particular group is not [happy]. They've overcome adversity all year long, overcome the odds.
"They really believe in each other and believe in the way we do things and that's powerful. And Taylor is the leader in that. Taylor Hall is not happy that he's playing his first playoff game, or third playoff game, the guy wants to win."