Haula Powers Devils, Rangers on Brink of Elimination
DEVILS 4 – RANGERS 0
The New Jersey Devils are on the brink of knocking out their bitter rivals from the playoffs.
Jersey shutout the New York Rangers 4-0 at Prudential Center to take 3-2 series lead, and can eliminate the Rangers from the postseason tournament with a win on Saturday at the Garden.
Erik Haula was responsible for a pair of goals and an assist. His first netter of the night coming on a power play 3:27 into the second period. The final score came on an empty netter with five minutes to go.
Haula from allllllll the way downtown. pic.twitter.com/Aq9GczbiT5
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 28, 2023
Ondrej Palat scored the first goal of the day for New Jersey just :39 seconds into the contest that set the tone for the rest of the night.
MERCDAWG SHORTY! pic.twitter.com/rGNxrt6DH9
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 28, 2023
Dawson Mercer also contributed a goal in this victory for Jersey.
Moreover it was another impressive showing for goaltender Akira Schmid, who kept the Rangers off the board, recording 23 block shots. The 22-year old has been incredible in this series since getting the call for the struggling Vitek Vanecek. In three starts, he has held the Rangers to just two goals on 82 shots; that’s good enough for an 0.82 GAA.
Can the Devils complete the task on Saturday? We’ll have to wait and find out.
Love that sound. pic.twitter.com/sR7cCUrDH3
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 28, 2023