The New Jersey Devils cruised to a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 5 on Thursday to take a 3-2 series lead over their Metropolitan Division rivals.
Ondrej Palat opened the scoring 39 seconds into the pivotal contest, leading the way for New Jersey to earn its third consecutive victory. Erik Haula scored twice, and Dawson Mercer also found twine.
Goaltender Akira Schmid made 23 stops to continue an impressive start to his playoff career. Schmid took over the Devils' crease for Vitek Vanecek in Game 3 and only allowed two goals since for a .976 save percentage. He joined Martin Brodeur and Sean Burke as the only goaltenders in New Jersey franchise history to record a playoff shutout.
"He never loses his focus, he makes it look easy - and that gives us confidence," Devils captain Nico Hischier said of Schmid, according to James Nichols of The Fourth Period.
"The boys have been playing phenomenal in front of me," Schmid said. "Not a lot of work for me. I can't give the boys enough credit."
New York didn't manage many shots on target, but Schmid's play made a significant impact as the Rangers outchanced the Devils 24-20 at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
The Devils can close out the series Saturday night with a win at Madison Square Garden. A potential Game 7 would be May 1.
New Jersey hasn't advanced past the first round since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2012.
