Penalty Kill(ed) It | COLUMN

The Devils knew the importance of the moment.
They had a 1-0 lead in Game 5 of their First Round series against the New York Rangers. The winner of the contest would take a 3-2 series lead.
But the Rangers were on the power play with a chance to tie the game.
New York, which has one of the deadliest power plays in the NHL, moved the puck around and found Mika Zibanejad in the high slot. He was the Rangers leading goal scorer on the season with 39 goals, while placing third in the entire NHL with 20 power-play goals.
For the Rangers, there was no better player to have the puck on his stick.
With traffic in front, Zibanejad unleashed a blast. Goaltender Akira Schmid didn't pick up the puck's trajectory until late but managed to get his right leg pad flush to the ice just in time to kick away the shot.
The Rangers worked the puck back around to Zibanejad for a second opportunity. This time defenseman John Marino dropped to one knee and absorbed the brunt of the rubber. Nathan Bastian found the errant puck and sent it the length of the ice.
The Devils would kill the critical penalty before scoring three additional unanswered goals in a 4-0 victory to take a 3-2 series lead Thursday night at Prudential Center.

"You don't want to give them any momentum, especially with a 1-0 lead. If they score on that power play, they're right back in it," Marino said.
The Devils penalty kill in many ways has been a microcosm of the team's recent fate. When New Jersey dropped Games 1 and 2, falling behind 2-0 early in the series, the Devils surrendered four power-play goals on the first seven times shorthanded (all by New York forward Chris Kreider).
But since then, the Devils have killed 13 straight, including two more Thursday night.
"We weren't happy the first couple games," veteran PKer Erik Haula said. "We really dug deep on the details of our penalty kill, and just the respect that we have for their power play. They have one of the best power plays in the league. Every time we take a penalty, we need to be at our best to get the job done."
The Devils, whom had the fourth-ranked penalty kill unit in the NHL during the regular season (82.6%), has gotten the job done lately.
Those power-play goals allowed by New Jersey in the first two games had less to do with systems and more to do with execution. All of Kreider's goals were tips from around the crease (though one went off his shin pad and in). The Devils just missed their coverage. Those lapses have been absent in the past three games, not coincidentally all Devils victories.
"We addressed it after the first two games and we've been executing," captain Nico Hischier said. "That's it."

Even if it wasn't a structural change, one point of emphasis for the Devils has been more pressure. Instead of sitting back and letting the Rangers pick their spots, New Jersey's players have been more aggressive in forcing the puck carrier to make a quick pass or play and giving them less time to free style. But it isn't just pressure, but smart and coordinated pressure with support provided for the pressuring player.
"That's one of the key factors, you want to take away time and space from those skilled guys," Marino said. "That's what they want and that's when they'll make plays. To be able to take away their time and space and make a read off that next play."
Second, getting bodies into shot lanes. The Devils had 24 blocked shots total in Game 5. And when the pucks have gotten through, Schmid has been on the spot for the save.
"It's definitely been more of a collective effort," Marino said. "There's support all over the ice. More communication. Guys know where they're supposed to be and Schmid making big saves when we need him to. It's all those little details."
And the best way to avoid giving up man-advantage goals is to avoid giving up man-advantages. The Devils only took two penalties in Game 5 and just three in Game 4. That's a vast improvement over the 15 in the first three games.
"(Power play) is one of their strengths," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "They're tough to defend 4-on-5. We want to be disciplined. We want to stay out of the box. We don't want to take too many penalties. That really is our focus."
And as if killing penalties wasn't enough, the PK even chipped in a little offense. With the Devils ahead 2-0 and again trying to kill off a crucial penalty, Haula connected with Dawson Mercer for a 2-on-1 and shorthanded goal that blew the game open.
"Me and Haula went on the 2-on-1. I just opened up," Mercer said about pivoting his body into a parallel position to receive pass for a one-timer. "We had a lot of these chances earlier on in the year, but we finally connected, and it was a good time for that to happen."
The shorthanded goal was a bonus. But most important for the Devils is they've stopped the hemorrhaging and fixed their most glaring weakness from early in the series.
"Give credit to all the guys," Haula said, "we've gotten better, and we just have to continue what we're doing."