3 Keys: Rangers at Devils, Game 7 of Eastern 1st Round

(M3) Rangers at (M2) Devils

Eastern Conference First Round, Game 7

Best-of-7 series tied 3-3

8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, MSGSN, MSG

The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers will play Game 7 at Prudential Center on Monday, the winner moving into the Eastern Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Devils missed at an opportunity to clinch the best-of-7 series when they lost 5-2 in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

"If someone told us at the start of the year, we would be in a Game 7 in the playoffs, we would be thrilled and probably a little shocked," Devils center Jack Hughes said. "It's a great opportunity for us."

New York is 6-1 in elimination games dating back to the start of the 2022 playoffs.

RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]

"The big money is in this game," Rangers forward Artemi Panarin said. "If you lose you go home, if you win you keep going. It's a little bit of pressure on everyone, not only for us, for them too."

New Jersey has 18 games of Game 7 experience from the expected lineup Monday: Ondrej Palat (six games), Dougie Hamilton (three), Erik Haula and Timo Meier (two each), Curtis Lazar, John Marino, Ryan Graves, Jonas Siegenthaler and Tomas Tatar (one each).

New York has 48 games of experience: Chris Kreider (eight), Patrick Kane (five), Vladimir Tarasenko and Barclay Goodrow (four each), Tyler Motte, Jacob Trouba, and Panarin (three each), Braden Schneider, Filip Chytil, Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, Ryan Lindgren, K'Andre Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad (two each).

The Devils have never defeated the Rangers in a Game 7. New York won the previous two at Madison Square Garden, 8-4 in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals and 2-1 in double overtime in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final.

"It's the biggest game of the season and Game 7s are always magnified because one team keeps going and one goes home," Haula said. "I feel confident in our guys."

Home teams are 111-81 (.578) in 192 Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 4-2 in 2022 and 0-2 this year.

Here are 3 keys for Game 7:

1. Screening Schmid

The Rangers had more bodies in front and did a better job in Game 6 of denying Devils goalie Akira Schmid the ability to track pucks from the point. Schmid allowed five goals on 29 shots and is 3-1 with a 1.72 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout in his four starts this series.

"He's obviously a really good goalie," Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck said. "He played really well in three games. We're going to expect his best and we're going to make sure we give him our best."

Schmid was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate.

"We could have been better in front of him on a couple plays," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of Game 6, "but you could never tell if his confidence was shaken. He's got a great demeanor and it doesn't really change."

2. Staying disciplined

The Devils know they're playing with fire if they continue to give the Rangers power-play opportunities.

"We definitely have to try and stay away from the offensive-zone penalties," Ruff said. "We've talked about that as a team, and we really know that's an area that we have to clean up."

New York is 5-for-24 on the power play (20.8 percent) and all five goals have been scored by Chris Kreider. The Devils are 3-0 in the series when the Rangers do not score on the man-advantage (0-for-10).

"I think they did a good job of getting us running a little bit early on with the power plays and they were definitely trying to get (Rangers forward) Mika Zibanejad the puck since he's so dangerous on that flank," Haula said. "It's vital that we do everything we can to not take bad penalties."

3. Shesterkin's moment

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin has been rock solid. He was particularly sharp in Game 6, making 34 saves, and in critical moments when the Devils were pressing to close the deficit.

The 27-year-old, who won the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL last season, has a 1.79 GAA and .939 save percentage in the series.

"It's confidence," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Igor is, if not the best, one of the best goalies in the NHL, so it's great for us. He's been through it, he's done great for us, and he's been outstanding in this series. He's been our best player for sure."

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Vladimir Tarasenko

Alexis Lafreniere -- Vincent Trocheck -- Patrick Kane

Artemi Panarin -- Filip Chytil -- Kaapo Kakko

Jimmy Vesey -- Barclay Goodrow -- Tyler Motte

Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox

K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba

Niko Mikkola -- Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin

Jaroslav Halak

Scratched:Ben Harpur, Jonny Brodzinski, Jake Leschyshyn, Libor Hajek

Injured: None

Devils projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt

Erik Haula -- Jack Hughes -- Ondrej Palat

Timo Meier -- Dawson Mercer -- Jesper Boqvist

Nathan Bastian -- Michael McLeod -- Curtis Lazar

Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton

Ryan Graves -- John Marino

Kevin Bahl -- Damon Severson

Akira Schmid

Vitek Vanecek

Scratched:Brendan Smith, Luke Hughes, Miles Wood, Yegor Sharangovich, Mackenzie Blackwood

Injured: None

Status report

The Rangers held an optional morning skate. ... The Devils held a full skate but did not conduct line rushes, so any changes will be determined during warmups.

NHL.com staff writer David Satriano contributed to this report