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The first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes Monday night from New Jersey as the Devils host the rival New York Rangers with the winner facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the East semifinals. ESPN has the telecast Monday. The Rangers have recorded wins in each of their first two winner-take-all showdowns against the Devils.

Rangers vs. Devils Game 7 Monday Concludes NHL First-Round Playoff Schedule

When: Monday, May 1, at 8:00 pm ET
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
TV / Streaming: ESPN

The Rangers forced a Game 7 and snapped a three-game skid in this series with a 5-2 home win Saturday. Chris Kreider supplied a goal and two assists for New York. Kreider has been dominant in the first round, providing six goals and nine points through six outings. He was especially important to the Rangers’ success Saturday.

With the Devils up 1-0, Kreider scored on the power play late in the first period to tie the contest, and he then supplied the primary assists on the Rangers’ two second-period tallies to put New York up 3-1. It was his 40th goal in 106 career playoff appearances. Kreider (16-6—22 in 28 GP) tied the NHL record for most career goals in potential elimination games, which is held by former Rangers captain Mark Messier (16-12—28 in 24 GP).

Igor Shesterkin saved 34 of 36 shots in the win. Shesterkin allowed the opening goal to Curtis Lazar midway through the first period, but he shook it off and went on to have another great game. He’s surrendered two or fewer goals in five of six playoff starts this year, giving him a 3-3 record, 1.79 GAA and .939 save percentage in the first round.

“There was, I think, only one belief: We can do it,” said Vladimir Tarasenko, who benefited the most from head coach Gerard Gallant’s line and power-play changes by recording a goal and an assist. “Never give up. Just try to give our best and we’ll see what happens. It should be every night like this. The last few games wasn’t that good for us, I think we played well today, but we need to focus on the next one.”

Devils rookie Akira Schmid stopped 24 of 29 shots before being pulled in the loss. It was Schmid’s first bad outing of the playoffs. The 22-year-old played a huge role in the Devils winning their previous three games by saving 80 of 82 shots in that span. New York solved him Saturday, though, beating Schmid once in the first period and twice in each of the second and third frames. After Braden Schneider put the Rangers up 5-1 midway through the third period, Vitek Vanecek stepped into the contest. Schmid is expected to start again.

The Devils’ discipline was one reason they entered Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the Rangers. In the first three games of the series, they handed New York 15 power-play opportunities; in the next two games, the Rangers had only five power plays combined. But in Game 6, the Devils reverted to taking too many penalties and too many of them in the offensive zone. New Jersey was whistled for four minor penalties in the first 23:20 of Game 6.

This marks the third Devils-Rangers Game 7 all-time and the first time it will be played on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. The Rangers won both previous showdowns at Madison Square Garden, defeating the Devils 8-4 in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals and 2-1 in double overtime in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final.

New York owns an all-time record of 11-6 in Game 7s (3-5 as road team) and have earned wins in eight of its past nine dating to the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals – the Rangers’ eight Game 7 wins since 2012 are four more than the next-closest clubs over that span. New Jersey is 7-7 in 14 all-time Game 7s (3-2 as home team) and will contest its first since a double-overtime win versus Florida in the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals finale.

The Devils player with the most Game 7 experience is forward Ondrej Palat, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who has played in six such contests (4-2). The corresponding player for the Rangers is Kreider, who will be skating in his ninth Game 7 (7-1). Kreider’s total of seven Game 7 wins is one shy of the NHL record shared by Brad Richards (8-0), Ray Bourque (8-1), Justin Williams (8-1), Carl Hagelin (8-2), Ryan McDonagh (8-2) and Glenn Anderson (8-4).

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Game Trends

Rangers are 4-1 in their last 5 road games.
Rangers are 1-4 in their last 5 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Devils are 6-2 in their last 8 home games.
Devils are 5-2 in their last 7 games following a loss of 3 or more goals.
Road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.