Akira Schmid since taking over for the struggling Vitek Vanecek in goal for the Devils in Game 3 against the Rangers, the 22-year-old rookie has been a key to the team’s turnaround.
In the first period, Schmid made good stops on shots by Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Lindgren. And in the second, Schmid reacted well with Kappo Kakko on the doorstep.Before the game, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant praised the Devils rookie goaltender, saying Schmid had “looked very good in net, very comfortable.”Gallant added he wanted the Rangers to do what they did in the first two games of the series, which was “get people at the net [and] screen him.
That was evident throughout Game 5, as Schmid stood up to all challenges, while Shesterkin struggled for most of the first two periods — including giving up a shorthanded goal — and was the subject of several derisive chants of “I-gor!” from the crowd. And even when Schmid made a mistake, like when he gave up the puck, Kakko missed the net with a shot.
That’s the kind of roll Schmid is on as the first rookie goaltender to start a postseason game for the Devils since Martin Brodeur did so in 1992. The switch has paid off, likely even better than the team could have hoped.
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