Last night, the New Jersey Devils won in comeback fashion to take down the New York Rangers 2-1 in overtime. Dougie Hamilton and Akira Schmid propelled New Jersey to the Game 3 victory. With a loss putting the Devils on the brink of elimination, the win injects life back into the series.
Recap
Period One
The Devils came out looking better than they did in almost all of game two, getting a power play seconds in off a Jesper Bratt chance. The Devils and Rangers would exchange some chances back and forward in the first, but Akira Schmid and Igor Shesterkin stood tall and the game stood locked at zero.
Period Two
The second period was dominated at five-on-five by the Rangers, but a herculean effort from Schmid kept the Devils in it. Chris Kreider went in on a partial two-on-one and ripped a shot short-side high for a Rangers’ lead. Minutes later, the Devils went to the power play where their supposedly potent top unit finally capitalized.
Jack Hughes ripped a short-side high shot on Shesterkin with Ondrej Palat screening in front to tie the game for the Devils. The game would remain tied as both teams skated into their respective locker rooms.
Period Three
With the game tied in the third period, it felt as if neither team wanted to make that game altering mistake. Jesper Bratt had a couple nice chances alone in front. However, Shesterkin said no, denying him on a nice pass from Timo Meier and a defensive breakdown from Rangers’ defenseman Jacob Trouba.
The game would stay even at one after regulation, and the Devils would head to their first playoff overtime in over a decade.
Overtime
The Devils were outplayed for the first half of overtime with Akira Schmid making multiple massive saves in tight. After the two teams got past the five-minute mark though, the game opened up and the Devils got their chances. Meier and Bratt got some good wacks at the puck before it was cleared out by the Rangers.
Eventually, at the 11:36 mark of overtime, Dougie Hamilton ripped a shot upstairs glove side on Shesterkin to give his team the win and life in the series. The Devils took game 3 on the road 2-1.
Game Notes
Akira Schmid To The Rescue
In a move that surprised some, Akira Schmid was thrusted into the starters net for Game 3. The rookie netminder, who has been praised for his calmness both on and off the ice, got his first career playoff start in a critical Game 3 on the road.
Schmid stood tall stopping 35-of-36 shots for a .972 save percentage (SV%). He also stopped an impressive 2.8 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Impressive stuff from the Japanese-named netminder who should get the nod in goal for game four Monday.
Top Line Domination
A line of Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier were haphazardly thrown together at the conclusion of Thursday’s loss. They stuck around for game three and put on a show. While no goals were scored with that trio on the ice together, there certainly should have been.
The line put up an extremely impressive 70.00 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and 77.57 expected goals percentage (xG%). Some line changes for game four would be understandable, but this one shouldn’t be touched.
Next Up
Game 4 will also be at Madison Square Garden. It is scheduled for a 7:00 pm ET puck drop on Monday.