On Saturday night, our beloved Devils provided the first truly fun moment of the playoffs for its fanbase. Prior to Dougie Hamilton’s OT winner, the nine preceding periods of hockey in this series have been mostly frustrating, mixed with a heavy dosage of anxiety for Devils fans.
More importantly, that goal provided the Devils exactly what they needed to climb back into this series: belief.
Let’s start with giving credit where its due – Lindy and his staff pushed the right buttons heading into game three. They shook up the lineup by inserting the right players, they made adjustments to their gameplan, they improved their results on special teams. Since my last post was absolutely scathing of the coaching staff, let me be the first one to tip my cap to Lindy & co.
Let’s summarize what went right.
First and foremost, Akira Schmid was nothing short of spectacular. I mentioned in my series preview that Vanecek would need to steal us one game. Well, swap Vanecek for Schmid and that’s exactly what the big Swiss netminder did. He looked as calm and comfortable throughout the game as any veteran NHL goaltender, never mind a 22-year-old in his first career playoff game on the road in one of the most famed arenas in all of sports against his team’s biggest rival.
The Devils found their game for the most part, though they adjusted to “playoff hockey.” In that, I mean that they didn’t look to make plays that weren’t there. They played to their strengths, which is speed and possession, but they didn’t sacrifice the smart play when it was available. They chipped pucks in, supported the play in all three zones, they were hard on the backcheck, they eliminated costly errors.
Perhaps that’s one thing reason as to why it is so difficult (though not impossible) to come back in a series after going down two games: your margin for error is simply no longer there. You can’t afford to have a turnover that enters the back of your net the way you might be able to if you’re up in the series, because that turnover might be the end of your season. Call it the razor’s edge: the Devils played on it.
Timo Meier dragged the Devils into battle. I used this hyperbole a couple of times in my last post and on Twitter. I asked who was going to be the guy to get the rest of the team engaged, cause they were going to need that to win. And it ended up being someone who we really needed to get involved: Timo. He didn’t score a huge goal. He didn’t have a point. But he was pest. He bothered the shit out of the Rangers. He drew penalties. He was physical. That new line of 96-13-63 looked great, let’s hope it continues.
The penalty kill figured it out. The Devils took way too many penalties again, however, they killed off all five of the Rangers chances, after being torched by Chris Kreider for four goals in the first two games.
The Devils have opened the door. Now they need to walk through it.
Game four tonight provides the opportunity, in enemy territory, to even this series and turn it into a best of three. Here are a few thoughts.
STAY OUT OF THE BOX. On today’s Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, the hosts mentioned how terrible the officiating has been in the playoffs this year. I’m in full agreement. Having said that, the Devils need to stop playing with fire. The winner of the special teams battle has won each of the games in this series, and the Rangers PP has been ferocious. To have given them five more opportunities in game three was insane. What is it the kids say? Fuck around and find out? Let’s not fuck around.
KEEP IT SIMPLE. Live to fight another day. The Devils were better in game three at limiting errors. When there was no play to be made, they didn’t force it. This remains especially true tonight. Don’t give the Rangers additional chances and let the crowd get into it. Chips pucks off the glass in the d-zone. Put pucks below the goal line on the forecheck. Make the Rangers come 200 feet. All the cliches. More specifically…
KEEP THE PUCK AWAY FROM SHESTERKIN. Huh? You read that right. The Devils did a great job putting pucks in deep in game three. But there were a ton of hard wraps that Shesterkin thwarted behind the net, impeding the Devils forecheck before it had the chance to start. Watching the Oilers game last night, in their comeback from the 3-0 hole they started in, they chipped pucks in softly and used their speed to retrieve. Korpisolo had no chance to play the puck. The Devils have all the footspeed in the world to beat the Rangers to pucks. Put the puck in behind them, but watch the wraps to keep Shesty from handling the puck.
DRAW THEM INTO THE STORM, THEN WEATHER IT. Timo did a great job stirring shit up in game three. The Rangers (and the spectators at MSG) were preoccupied and emotional with his antics. Rinse and repeat, find that line, but don’t cross over it. Some of the pressure in this series has now shifted to the Rangers on their home ice. I’d expect them to come out fast and furious. They don’t want to hear the media bullshit, they don’t want to second guess what has been a mostly successful series for them to date. Expect their best effort, draw on their emotion, get them flustered, and then weather it. Stoic, disciplined, resilient and the opportunities will come.
EVERYBODY ELSE. Different players have shown up for the Devils through three games. Some of the usual suspects and some of the less-expected. Jack. Nico. Schmid. Haula. Dougie. Timo. Marino. Bratt. McLeod. It’s time for the rest of the guys to arrive. I’m looking at Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, Nate Bastian, Tomas Tatar, in that order. Also – outside of his incredible OT heroics, Dougie was dogshit in game three. And he was pedestrian in games 1 & 2. He needs to be better and make things harder on the Rangers.
And to state the obvious, more of the Akira Schmid from game three would be great.
That’s all I’ve got. Are we feeling confident and momentous with an evened-up series heading back to The Rock on Thursday? Or will we have our backs against the wall on the brink of elimination?
I know one thing for sure – I may have an anxiety attack before this is all over. My heart can’t take these dramatics. I think the last decade of irrelevance has amplified this roller coaster.
Let’s. Go. Devils.
Word Of The Devil 