Victory belongs to the guys from Jersey!
The New Jersey Devils took down their hated rivals, the New York Rangers in a dominating 4-0 triumph in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to advance to the semi’s to face-off with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Devils were led by 22-year old goalie Akira Schmid, who was again brilliant in front of the net for the Devs, stopping 31 shots and pitching a shutout for the second time in this series. In five starts, Schmid went 4-1, allowing only seven goals, or a 1.38 Goals Against Average.
Meanwhile, the Devils were aggressive early and often. They pounded the Rangers defense in the first period, attempting 12 shots on goal including 8 inside the perimeter of the goal. That hard work softened up the Rangers come the second period, when Ondrej Palat skated around a couple of Rangers before passing off the puck to Michael McLeod who tipped it in for the 1-0 lead.
https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1653211277362167811?s=20
Six minutes later, Tomas Tatar took a pass from John Marino and burried into the net to give the Devils a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead.
Eric Haula’s fourth goal of the series midway through the third period on a slap shot iced it for the Devils, and you could feel the party starting at the Rock.
ERIK HAULA BLOWS THE ROOF OFF THIS PLACE! pic.twitter.com/5d50Jp4DJ8
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) May 2, 2023
