The New Jersey Devils face the New York Rangers in Game Four of the First Round with the Rangers boasting a 2-1 series lead. The Devils lost the first two games on their home ice but pulled off the upset in Game Three winning in overtime. The Rangers meanwhile looked poised to take a 3-0 series lead but allowed a late goal and lost 2-1 in overtime in Game Three to drop their first game of the series. The Devils look to even things up while the Rangers hope to move one win away from the Second Round and the upcoming game looks to be a great one as a result.
The Devils have made this a series against the Rangers but their offense has disappeared, scoring only four goals in the first three games of the series. Jack Hughes, Erik Haula, and Jesper Bratt have scored three goals and two assists but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Dougie Hamilton can start to open up the offense from the point as he scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game Three and can start to provide the spark the offense needs.
The offense has struggled but the defense stepped up in Game Three, allowing only one goal in the win. John Marino and Ryan Graves have led the top pairing while Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Seigenthaler, and the rest of the unit also stepped up in Game Three, creating turnovers on limiting shooting lanes. Moreover, goaltender Akira Schmid was remarkable in Game Three, saving 35 of the 36 shots he faced to win his first career playoff game .