Jonas Siegenthaler and Jack Hughes scored goals for the Devils and Akira Schmidt authored another sharp performance in goal as New Jersey beat the lackluster Rangers, 3-1, Monday night in Game 4 of their First Round Series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Devs’ win knotted the best-of-7 series at two games apiece with Game 5 looming Thursday in Newark. The Devils have wrested back home-ice advantage after dropping the first two games of the series at home. Of course, who knows if that is a good thing, considering the road team has won every game so far.
With the score tied at 1 in the third period, Siegenthaler snapped a wrist shot past Igor Shesterkin‘s stick side with 11:38, giving the Devils the lead. With 25.1 seconds remaining in the game, Ondrej Palat scored an empty-net goal for New Jersey.
Here are the key takeaways…
– Until Vincent Trocheck swatted in a rebound just 1:42 into the third period, the crowd at Madison Square Garden was mostly tepid all night. But with the score tied at 1, the Garden became playoff-loud again as the sellout crowd of 18,006 was howling. It was Trocheck’s first goal of the playoffs and the play percolated off a Patrick Kane shot into traffic, Chris Kreider backhanding a loose puck at Akira Schmid, who blocked it. But Trocheck fired the puck past Schmid’s glove for the equalizer.
– The Rangers’ power play, a huge factor in the first two games when it tallied twice each night, fizzled again. The Rangers’ PP is a combined 0-for-8 over the last two losses, including 0-for-3 Monday night. During the regular season, the Rangers were successful on 24.1 percent of their power plays, seventh-best in the NHL. Overall in this series, the Rangers are 4-for-18 (22 percent) on the power play.
– Whatever ultimately happens in this series, it seems Hughes, the Devils’ superstar, will get his goals, even if Ranger fans boo every time he touches the puck. Hughes scored on a breakaway just 2:50 into the game, beating Shesterkin on the goalie’s right side after he got free following a pass from Siegenthaler. (That’s the same Jonas Siegenthaler who was, weirdly, a scratch in Game 2). The score came immediately following two solid chances for the Rangers, including Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko on a two-on-one. It was Hughes’ third goal of the series and it gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead.
– The Rangers looked sluggish through large chunks of the first period, even if they had a 10-8 advantage in shots. They failed on two consecutive power plays late in the period and even had a one man advantage when cut short Vladimir Tarasenko was whistled for tripping. The Garden crowd, normally quite raucous during the playoffs, was quiet during several stoppages.
– The Rangers had a third power-play chance with 9:21 left in the second period, but couldn’t convert. There were several fans booing when the PP ran out. The Devils outshot the Rangers, 8-6, in the period. The Rangers best chance during the second was probably when Shesterkin passed to Kakko on a rush and Kakko passed to Alexis Lafrenierewho spun around and had a good look but fired wide of the net.
Other second period news: There was a delay with 3:50 left because a pane of glass near the Ranger bench had a crack in it. It was replaced.
Highlights
What’s next?
The Rangers will head to the Prudential Center in Newark for Game 5 against the Devils on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.