From strutting out of Prudential Center to slinking out of it, the Rangers have been turned upside down by the Devils.
The same Rangers team that came into the same building just last week and looked like they weren’t going to break a sweat in the first round ventured back for a pivotal, series-swinging Game 5 and were blown out, 4-0, by the Devils on Thursday night.
The Broadway Blueshirts who danced around and had their way with the Devils in Games 1 and 2 in Newark were shut out by a rookie goaltender and are now facing elimination Saturday night at the Garden.
“Got to win one game,” Chris Kreider said. “Got to go home. We’ve had a terrific fan base all year, we let them, we let ourselves down at home. So it’s up to us to show up and play the way we want to play from puck drop. … It’s time to step up and do those things.”
Oh, how the mighty Rangers are falling, while the timid Devils have awakened.
The Rangers have drifted far away from what they do best as this series has progressed.
The Devils, on the other hand, have gotten the hang of this playoffs thing.
What was two straight victories of the Rangers coming up with every loose puck has turned into three consecutive losses in which the Devils have shown way more fight.
It has culminated in the Rangers reverting to their disjointed phase they endured when Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko first joined the club.
There was simply no flow to the Rangers game Thursday night.
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The star power of this Rangers lineup has fizzled.
Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin went another game without a goal.
Kane continued to be bodied off the puck, while Tarasenko has significantly dropped off after a strong start to the series.
The Kid Line can’t find its groove below the hash marks. The power play is on a 0-for-13 skid.
Even goalie Igor Shesterkin, who finished with 36 saves in the loss, launched a puck down the ice to put a shot on goal at one point in the second period to try and get something going for the Rangers.
Akira Schmid, the rookie netminder who has backstopped the Devils’ turnaround, may be competing beyond his years. The Rangers, however, can’t expect much production when they get outshot 20-2 in the third period.
“Two goals in three games, it’s not going to cut it probably in any playoff series in this league,” Jimmy Vesey said. “Their goalie has been solid, but I still don’t think he’s been tested enough. We have to find a way. That’s the bottom line.”
It’s apparent just how much more confidence the Devils are skating with after powering back from a 2-0 series deficit.
They were decisive with the puck and playing a cohesive game.
The Devils, who made some more lineup tweaks, even looked taller on the ice since they seemed to be standing up straighter.
After scoring the first goal for the second straight game, when Ondrej Palat’s shot off a loose rebound chipped off Adam Fox’s stick and over Shesterkin just 39 seconds into the opening frame, the Devils set the tone for what eventually became their most complete game of the series.
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Not only did they hold the Rangers off the scoreboard, but they made it difficult for them in all three zones for 60 minutes.
Erik Haula scored twice, once on the power play and the other into an empty net to cap the scoring in the third, while Dawson Mercer sniped a backbreaking shorthanded goal to make it a 3-0 game in the second period.
This was the Devils best. The Rangers had no answer.
The series has been inverted.
The Devils have the upper hand.
The Rangers are one loss away from a way-too-early exit from the playoffs.
