GAME DAY
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POST-GAME VIDEO
WATCH:
Full Highlights
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Onto Game 7
INTERVIEWS:
Mercer
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Tatar
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Hischier
WATCH:
Head Coach Lindy Ruff
WHAT'S NEXT
It's win or go home for the Devils and Rangers. The Devils will host Game 7 on Monday night. You can listen to the game on the Devils Hockey Nework and watch on MSGSN. Game time is 8 p.m.
Here are some observations from the game...
- The Devils came out flying against the Rangers, setting the tone early. The opening shift was dominated by the Hischier line, hemming the Rangers in the zone. It set the mood early, that this team wasn't coming into the game with any other mission than to win.
Later, when Nathan Bastian took the opening penalty of the game, the ensing penaly kill was vital to execute properly. While the Rangers did get three shots on goal with their man advantage, they were left without anything to show for it. After the start the Devils had to begin the game, leading up to the Bastian penalty, being able to kill that penalty off was enormous in maintaining the momentum generated in the opening minutes.
- It was the penalty calls that really got in the way of being able to generate or ride any momentum in the game.
"The penalties took our best players away from the game, they had to spend too much time on the bench," Lindy Ruff said post-game.
Both Tomas Tatar and Nico Hischier agreed, although not necessarily with the penalties being called.
"I disagree with a few of them, kudos to our guys who did a tremendous job on some of the kills," Tatar said, "If you play first four in a row, that's going to take a lot of energy. I felt like every time we had momentum we were back on the PK again."
- Curtis Lazar hasn't had many minutes of playing time in his four post-season games, never topping more than six minutes. But in Game 6, he was a big part of the Devils first period, cleaning up a rebound after Kevin Bahl threw the puck on the net and Igor Shesterkin sent the rebound right to Lazar.
For comparison, Lazar played 3:26 of the first period in Game 6, and in Game 5 played a total of 4:55 in Game 5.
But momentum an be a fickle thing. It can swing back and forth, sometimes with no notice at all. Along came the Rangers power play and the mood began to shift.
- Chris Kreider opened the Rangers scoring with a power play goal. The goal ended a run of 14 straight successful penalty kills, dating back to the third period of Game 2.
"They got puck luck on that goal, it goes off a skate and I thought we did a good job killing penalties," Ruff said.
The Devils killed off three of their four penalties tonight.
Kreider's goal was scored with just 25 seconds remaining in the period and before the period was up Ondrej Palat had taken another penalty at the 20:00 mark. It felt like then the momentum began to shift in the Rangers direction, on their home ice.
- Timo Meier is clearly Enemy No. 1 for the Rangers who have constantly slashed and hit Meier in this series and again tonight.
- The Devils conceded goals in the the final minute (25 sec.) of the first period and the final minute and a half of the second. Those can be backbreaking and demoralizing goals.
The Rangers entered the third period with the 3-1 lead, the first time since Game 2, that they had a lead heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
- Vitek Vanecek replaced Akira Schmid with 7:20 to play in the game after Braden Schnieder scored the Rangers fifth goal of the night. Schmid made 24 saves on 29 shots. Vanecek played just 2:18 of the 7:20 as Lindy Ruff pulled him early for an added attacker, leaving the net empty. Vanecek did not face any Rangers shots.
When it comes to a decision on who starts in Game 7, Lindy Ruff said that will once again be a group discussion with his coaches, GM Tom Fitzgerald and Executive VP of Hockey Ops, Martin Brodeur, which was the same group that came together to make the decision to switch to Akira Schmid in Game 3,
