The New Jersey Devils host the New York Rangers tonight in Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series is knotted up at two games apiece after both teams won two games on the road.

Match Overview

After being embarrassed in two games at home, the Devils responded in a big way at Madison Square Garden. Dougie Hamilton’s overtime goal in Game 3 and a superb defensive effort in Game 4 have turned this into a best-of-three with New Jersey controlling the momentum.

As a result, the Devils’ lines were unchanged at Wednesday’s practice. Damon Severson was the only player to miss practice, but was taking a maintenance day and is expected to be in the lineup tonight, per Amanda Stein.

New Jersey did make a small tweak to the power play, though. Ondrej Palat has been bumped up to the first unit to play the net-front role, per Stein. Timo Meier is down to the second unit. Palat was screening Igor Shesterkin on Jack Hughes’ power play goal in Game 3.

Akira Schmid will be back in net for the Devils. In his first two playoff games, Schmid has stopped 57 of 59 shots for a .966 save percentage and a 3.74 goals saved above expected (GSAx).

As for the Rangers, head coach Gerard Gallant is going back to his forward lines from Games 1-3, per Vince Mercogliano. The Rangers are tweaking their power play, though, per Mercogliano. At their practice, Mika Zibanejad was moved out of the bumper position back to the one-timer spot on the left circle, where he was positioned before the Patrick Kane acquisition. Kane was moved to the bumper, but has a lot of freedom to roam the offensive zone.

Igor Shesterkin will be in net for New York. He has posted a .941 save percentage and a 5.42 GSAx this series.

Projected Lines

New Jersey Devils –

Forwards

Meier – Hischier – Bratt

Haula – Hughes – Palat

Tatar – McLeod – Mercer

Boqvist – Lazar – Bastian

Defensemen

Bahl – Hamilton

Graves – Marino

Siegenthaler – Severson

Goaltenders

Schmid

Vanecek

New York Rangers –

Forwards

Kreider – Zibanejad – Kane

Panarin – Trocheck – Tarasenko

Lafreniere – Chytil – Kakko

Vesey – Goodrow – Motte

Defensemen

Lindgren – Fox

MIller – Trouba

Mikkola – Schneider

Goaltenders

Shesterkin

Halak

What to Watch For

Jack Hughes

Through four games this series, Jack Hughes has scored three of the six Devils’ goals. His underlying metrics are not spectacular, but they are solid, and he is the only Devil to consistently fill the net.

At five-on-five, Hughes has a 54.29 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%), good for 11th among NJ skaters. His high danger Corsi-for percentage (HDCF%) is 64.00, which ranks eighth.

Including the regular season, Hughes now has seven goals in eight games against Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers. Hughes has been the star on the scoresheet for New Jersey all season long, and this series is no different.

Jonas Siegenthaler

After a Game 2 healthy scratch, Jonas Siegenthaler has bounced back with a pair of strong performances. In Game 3, Siegenthaler posted a 48.77 xGF%, but a 4-1 edge in high-danger chances at five-on-five.

Then, in Game 4, Siegnethaler sniped the game-winning goal in the third period. He also picked up the primary assist on Jack Hughes’ breakaway goal to open the scoring, all while posting a 60.48 xGF% and a 6-4 edge in high-danger chances at five-on-five.

For the series, Siegenthaler is sixth among New Jersey skaters and second among defensemen with a 57.23 xGF% at five-on-five.

The Devils have looked much better defensively since Siegenthaler returned to the lineup, and while that has been a total team effort, having the 25-year-old back has not certainly not hurt. NJ was also a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill in Games 3 and 4 with Siegenthaler playing over seven minutes shorthanded.

Devils’ Top Line

Throughout the series, the top three Devils’ skaters in terms of xGF% are Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier. Meier is at 67.81 while Hischier and Bratt are up around 75.00 at five-on-five.

In Game 4, all three finished with an xGF% north of 67.00 at five-on-five, with Bratt posting a ridiculous 88.56 xGF% in over 18 minutes of ice time.

All three are also positive in terms of high-danger chances. Hischier, in particular, leads the way with a 19-4 edge in that department at five-on-five.

Despite these dominant underlying metrics, this trio has not dominated the scoresheet. Bratt and Hischier have combined for five assists while Meier is yet to record a point. None of the three has scored a goal yet, either. The Meier-Hischier-Bratt line is poised for a breakout game, and it could be the difference in this series.

Special Teams

Special teams will once again be critical for NJ. In Games 1 and 2, the Rangers went 4-for-10 on the power play, winning both games. In Games 3 and 4, they went 0-for-8 and the Devils took both contests. 

Is it likely that the Devils’ penalty kill remains perfect the rest of the series? Probably not. However, if they can keep the Rangers to one or two power play goals across the remainder of the series and stay out of the box like they did in Game 4, the Devils will like the chances to advance.

Where to Watch

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on ESPN2 as well as MSGSN. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.