4 battles to track in Devils-Rangers as New York slumps to edge of elimination

By triumphing 4-0 at home Thursday, the New Jersey Devils moved within a win of eliminating the cross-river rival New York Rangers from the Stanley Cup chase. Keep an eye on these four key battlegrounds as the Rangers try to wake up and prolong their season Saturday night in Game 6.

Rangers' shooters vs. Schmid Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Of the NHL's 16 playoff qualifiers, only the Devils, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild have started multiple goalies in the first round.

New Jersey's switcheroo was transformative. En route to an embarrassing exit after losing Games 1 and 2 in blowouts, head coach Lindy Ruff yanked Vitek Vanecek and replaced him with the postseason's 22-year-old breakout star. Akira Schmid has stoned 80 of the 82 shots he's faced to rock a .976 save percentage, squeezing the life out of New York's offense while rendering Vanecek's .827 mark irrelevant.

Schmid, the 10th netminder drafted in 2018 at No. 136 overall, was summoned from the AHL this year when injuries befell Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood. Schmid's save percentage over 18 games was .922. He pitched a 20-save shutout in relief of Blackwood in the regular-season finale, his first appearance for the Devils in three weeks.

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Tapped as Vanecek's backup for the playoffs, Schmid entered the series in Game 3 and narrowly outshone Igor Shesterkin in consecutive goalie duels. His best plays in Game 5 included glove denials of Artemi Panarin's odd-man chance and Kaapo Kakko's mid-air flick. One long Rangers cycle sequence ended when Schmid swallowed Jacob Trouba's point blast, allowing exhausted checker Nico Hischier to slump to the ice.

New York's power play is firing blanks at Schmid. Chris Kreider shelled Vanecek by deflecting in four goals on the Rangers' first seven attempts, but they're now mired in an 0-for-13 slide. Devils penalty killers are rushing Adam Fox at the blue line and bodying Kreider near the net, confident that Schmid will snare any puck he sees.

Shesterkin has been solid in defeat, posting a .924 save percentage across New York's three losses. A dormant offense is his team's issue. Kreider, Patrick Kane, and Mika Zibanejad only generated one scoring chance together at five-on-five in Game 5, per Natural Stat Trick. Slammed by coach Gerard Gallant for their sluggish effort in Game 4, the Rangers were outshot 20-2 in the third period Thursday in a pathetic showing.

Hughes vs. Blueshirts' D Rich Graessle / NHL / Getty Images

Jack Hughes' hands, shot, evasiveness, and panache have been on display every time he's scored in this round. The 21-year-old center is speedy and stylish, as his breakaway deke of Shesterkin in Game 4 reminded the Madison Square Garden faithful.

Hughes' series-high 21 shots on net include his penalty-shot conversion in the opener and pivotal power-play snipe in Game 3. New Jersey's two-win deficit is a distant memory, but the Devils needed Hughes to drag them into the series at a precarious moment. He chipped in a little in Game 5, drawing the tripping penalty Kane took that led to Erik Haula's tip goal.

Picked first overall in 2019, Hughes already leads his draft class in scoring by a 68-point margin. His rise to superstardom explains how New Jersey, a divisional also-ran for several years, rocketed up the standings this season. Stifling him won't cure all the Rangers' woes, but letting him cook in Game 6 would seal their elimination.

When Hughes rests, Devils defensemen have sparked offense by activating up ice, presenting themselves as threats to shoot as the trailer off the rush. That's how Dougie Hamilton netted the Game 3 overtime winner and Jonas Siegenthaler rewarded Hischier's pinpoint feed in Game 4. Haula, Dawson Mercer, and Ondrej Palat carried the load Thursday to spotlight the Devils' forward depth.

Subdued forwards to watch Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Timo Meier, New Jersey's 40-goal sniper and prized deadline acquisition, hasn't recorded a point despite leading the Devils at five-on-five in shots on net and high-danger shot attempts. He paces the team in hits, drawn penalties, and penalty minutes. Meier's been in the mix, teaming with Hischier and Jesper Bratt to cave in the Rangers and post a 79.8% expected goals rate in their shared minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.

Meier endured two four-game pointless skids in the regular season - one with the Sharks in October and one with the Devils in March. He's stuck in his longest drought since November 2019, though it almost ended Thursday. Demoted to the third line, Meier forced Shesterkin to make splendid glove and arm saves and also drew a holding minor, signaling he has the pep in his step to potentially take over Game 6 no matter where he's deployed.

Rich Graessle / NHL / Getty Images

Meanwhile, the Rangers' second line hung on by a thread over the first four games. Outchanced 27-12 when they skated together at five-on-five, Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Vladimir Tarasenko somehow held the Devils scoreless and punched in two goals themselves, both when Tarasenko ripped a wrister past Vanecek.

That line's luck waned Thursday. Scored against 39 seconds into Game 5, the trio failed to tap the puck over the goal line during a frenzied third-period scramble. Collectively, those three have accounted for one point over the Rangers' three losses. That's obviously insufficient.

The home-road split Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

The trend that dictated the outcome of Games 1 through 4 was unpersuasive Thursday. The home team is no longer winless in the series, disappointing the Rangers fans who infiltrated Prudential Center but never had reason to cheer.

Game 5 aside, it makes sense that the hosts have struggled in this matchup. New Jersey's rink is a dozen miles from Madison Square Garden, so travel isn't a slog. The Devils and Rangers both collected more points on the road in the regular season than they did at home. Around the NHL, the visitor has prevailed in 24 of 40 playoff games (60%) contested through Thursday. Four playoff clubs, the Rangers among them, have yet to win at home.

Last year, the road team won a mere 35 of 89 playoff games, triumphing at a 39.3% clip. Road squads went 42-45 (48.3% win rate) in the 2018-19 postseason, the year before pandemic protocols barred fans from arenas. The Rangers bouncing back at MSG is statistically probable, but momentum favors the Devils heading into Game 6.

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

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