Just like that, the Hudson River Rivalry has become a best of three.
After looking like the vastly inferior squad with significantly less postseason experience through the first two games, the resurgent Devils took two straight at Madison Square Garden, including a gritty 3-1 win over the Rangers in game four on Monday night.
New Jersey took a punch from the Blueshirts early in the third period, when New York tied the game 1-1 and sent The World’s Most Famous Arena into a frenzy, but Jonas Siegenthaler returned the sold-out crowd to its seats minutes later with a ripper from the right circle, showing an impressive response from a New Jersey team that looked outclassed in two games at home.
Now, after a drastic turnaround, the best of seven has become a best of three with the action returning to Newark for game five on Thursday night.
The Devils come home with a much different aura than when they arrived in New York. After a 2-0 series hole in which they were outscored 10-2, they now make the short trip back across the Hudson with momentum, and with a potentially massive find in Akira Schmid, who once again stopped all but one shot in just his second game since taking the starting job over from Vitek Vanecek.
Of course, Schmid isn’t the only New Jersey youngster who made a massive impact through two games at MSG.
Jack Hughes, who netted the equalizer in game three, picked up right where he left off to start game four. When a turnover by the Devils led to a 2-on-1 for the Rangers, Schmid came up big with a blocker save, and after a rebound chance was cleared out of the crease, the loose puck came to Hughes at center ice, and he broke in alone to beat Igor Shesterkin and give New Jersey an immediate 1-0 lead, just their second regulation lead of the series.
It was almost the Blueshirts with the instant lead had it not been for Siegenthaler, who cleared the puck out of danger after it had trickled past Schmid and almost into the net. It was a desperation backhand clear attempt that fell right into the lap of Hughes, who silenced the Madison Square Garden crowd that was loudly booing him every time he touched the puck.
The Rangers put the pressure on Schmid late in the second period, and nearly had the equalizer when Shesterkin surprised the Devils during a change by hurling a long distance pass to the far blue line, where Alexis Lafreniere took the feed and moved in on Schmid, but his turnaround shot sailed wide.
Minutes later, a seemingly harmless shot on goal was scooped up by Schmid, but the puck slid below his arm and into the crease behind him, but was quickly cleared away by New Jersey.
The Rangers came out peppering Schmid to begin the third period, and finally broke through when Vincent Trocheck put home a rebound in close with just 90 seconds gone by in the period, igniting an MSG crowd that at last had something to cheer about.
New Jersey struck back midway through the third, when a cross-ice pass through traffic from Nico Hischier got through to Siegenthaler, who walked in and buried a wrister past Shesterkin, and just like that, the Devils had the lead again.
It was the second flawless feed of the night from Siegenthaler, a healthy scratch earlier in the series, a fitting summation of how quickly the series has seemingly shifted for the Devils, who put the finishing touch on the win with an empty net goal by Ondrej Palat, one of the only Devils players with previous postseason experience.
Meanwhile, for the Rangers, they will head to The Rock having coughed up a 2-0 lead, perhaps bringing back painful memories of their last postseason series, when a 2-0 lead against the Lightning preceded four straight losses in the Eastern Conference Final.
“Not good, not good enough,” head coach Gerard Gallant said of the game four effort. “Not even close to good enough.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say ‘Play W-F-A-N’)
