Schmid steps up for Devils, silences Rangers in Game 3 of East 1st Round

NEW YORK -- Akira Schmid insists he was nervous. Seriously.

"Yes, very," the New Jersey Devils goalie said.
Then he had everyone fooled.
Schmid, the 22-year-old rookie who was tapped to start Game 3 against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round at Madison Square Garden on Saturday after his team had gotten, in the words of center Jack Hughes, "whacked two games in a row" with Vitek Vanecek in net, was a picture of poise all night long.
He made 35 saves on 36 shots, eight in overtime, enough so that defenseman Dougie Hamilton's perfect shot from the right face-off circle at 11:36 was the difference in a
2-1 win
.
RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series schedule]
The Devils are back into the best-of-7 series, down 2-1 when they were one shot away from facing elimination.
Game 4 is at the Garden on Monday. Schmid should be chilling in New Jersey's net again.
"He's kind of like stone cold," Hughes said. "He's just no pulse, just always relaxed and poised. I think he showed everyone how good he is. We'd like him to keep that going."
Devils coach Lindy Ruff said there was a long conversation Friday night about starting Schmid that included general manager Tom Fitzgerald, goalie coach Dave Rogalski and Martin Brodeur, the Hall of Fame goalie who is their executive vice president of hockey operations.
Schmid's puck handling -- he's better at it than Vanecek, Ruff said -- was a factor in the decision. So was his size, the fact that he's 6-foot-5 and Vanecek is 6-foot-2.
But poise mattered too. The Devils needed a sense of calm and a shot in the arm going into the Garden for Game 3 after the way they played in Games 1 and 2, back-to-back 5-1 losses at Prudential Center on Tuesday and Thursday.
"He's showed a lot of poise for a young man to come into this building and play," Ruff said. "He has that demeanor. He's had it all year long. There's not a lot that bothers him."
Schmid said he found out after the team dinner Friday that he was starting. The way he described how he handled the news made it seem like it was nothing out of the ordinary for him, just sort of like ho hum even though it clearly wasn't.
"You know, you try to get some sleep in, and the next day is like any other day, morning skate and then take your nap, get ready for the game," Schmid said.

Now is a good time to remember that two years ago Schmid was playing junior hockey for the Sioux City Musketeers in the United States Hockey League.
Don't forget that he played primarily for the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League last season, and that his only professional start in a playoff game came May 15, 2022, when he allowed four goals on 38 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Rochester Americans in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
But Schmid was 9-5-2 with a 2.13 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in 18 games (14 starts) in the regular season.
"We had full confidence when we saw he was playing," Hamilton said.
Schmid's poise spread through the team once the game started, especially after he made two saves on one-timers from Mika Zibanejad 23 seconds apart during a Rangers power play early in the first period.
"He made some saves look easy," Devils center Nico Hischier said. "If the goalie is calm in net, it gives confidence to the whole group. He made those saves when we need it. He played unbelievable for us. It was a big performance."
The Devils had a huge performance in front of him.
They were diligent with the puck, smarter as a team overall than they were previously.
Their penalty kill delivered, going 5-for-5. Chris Kreider, who had four power-play goals off net-front redirections and deflections in Games 1 and 2, did not get a sniff in Game 3.
"The coverage was better," Ruff said. "We made a couple mistakes, they had a couple really good looks, but we changed a few things and I thought we really made it tough for them on entries, got them a little bit frustrated. I think that's the biggest difference."
Hughes scored a power-play goal too.
"We knew we had to step up there in special teams," Hischier said. "If you look at the first two games, our special teams were just not good enough. It's that simple. In the playoffs it can decide games, and tonight special teams for us was huge."
So was their 5-on-5 play. The Devils' lone goal at 5-on-5 was Hamilton's in overtime. It's their lone 5-on-5 goal in the series. But they were better defensively, specifically the forwards coming back to help the defensemen and staying above the puck.
"That's huge for our belief tonight," Hughes said. "We're back in this thing and we're excited. Now we're really pumped to play the next game."
Schmid probably is too, though you'd never know it by the way he conducts himself.
"I try not to show that I'm nervous," Schmid said. "I don't want to give that vibe off."