The Devils are back in the series after making a bold change in net.
Head coach Lindy Ruff turned to Akira Schmid, and the 22-year-old stopped 35 of 36 shots, allowing Dougie Hamilton fire in the overtime winner as New Jersey took down the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, and now trail the series 2-1.
Hamilton wandered in from the blue line undetected, grabbed a feed from Jesper Bratt, who struggled to finish his own chances much of the night, to give the Devils a much-needed win just past the midway point of the extra period to avoid a devastating 3-0 hole.
"Just excitement," Hamilton said. "We’re right back into it now. We needed that win today, and glad we got it."
While New Jersey looked much improved from the first two games, when they were outscored a combined 10-2 at home, they still suffered through some familiar hiccups, though Schmid was now there to help cover some of them up.
The Devils, who had been torched by the power play all series, were given an immediate chance to capitalize on when of their own when Patrick Kane was whistled for hooking in the opening seconds of play, but the Rangers kept New Jersey quiet, muscling the Devils skaters off of loose pucks and clearing the zone to return to even strength.
New Jersey committed a penalty of its own five minutes in when Mike McLeod was sent to the box for boarding, thanks to a hit to the back of Ryan Lindgren in the attacking zone. The Rangers generated pressure on Schmid, making his first postseason start, but were held off the board in a fast-paced start to game three, and helped Schmid set the tone for the night.
"He's been great all year," Hamilton said. "He's been so steady, and so calm, and he showed it today."
The Blueshirts nearly got on the board with seven minutes to go in the opening period when a loose puck in the defensive zone was thrown out by Vladimir Tarasenko to a streaking Artemi Panarin near center ice, but his breakaway chance sailed well wide of Schmid.
With the help of a sturdy Schmid, the Devils kept the Rangers off the board in the first, in what was likely their best period of the series so far, but still weren’t able to get one past Igor Shesterkin on the other end.
Despite the strong period for New Jersey, the Rangers broke through early in the second, when a turnover at the point by Ondrej Palat turned into a 2-on-1 chance for New York, and the red-hot Chris Kreider pounced again, beating Schmid blocker side to ignite The Garden.
Plenty of extracurriculars ensued after the Kreider goal, as Timo Meier was pushed into Igor Shesterkin, leading to Shesterkin giving a couple punches to Meier, and at the other end, a couple of scrums led to a Devils power play. New Jersey, for the second game in a row, managed to convert on the man advantage, as Jack Hughes fired a wrist shot through a screen past Shesterkin, who never saw the laser from just above the right faceoff circle, giving the Devils the equalizer.
New Jersey gave New York all the chances it could handle thanks to continuous penalties in the offensive zone, but the Devils were able to hold the line shorthanded, sending the game into the third period tied 1-1.
The Devils took yet another penalty in the attacking zone late in the third period, when Ryan Graves hit Patrick Kane with a high stick, but New Jersey was again able to avoid disaster and send the game to overtime.
The Blueshirts had their chances at the start of overtime, but Schmid stood tall, including a big glove save on Tarasenko. The Devils used some clutch defensive play to back up Schmid, as a stick from behind by Ryan Graves broke up a potential 2-on-1 break, and a diving deflection by Nico Hischier sent an open slapper from Mika Zibanejad into the netting.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Shesterkin denied a quality chance by Meier and Jesper Bratt on consecutive shots to keep the game tied, until Hamilton came in untouched and kept the Devils’ season alive, but the credit in the Devils locker room all went to Schmid, who admitted he was "very" nervous, though he didn't show it.
"You just try to treat it like any other game," Schmid said. "That's how I am. That's just how I'm built."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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