The New Jersey Devils won their first playoff series in 11 years, defeating the rival New York Rangers 4-0 in Game 7 to win victory in the Battle of the Hudson.
Akira Schmid, a rookie goaltender, made 31 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs after taking over as starter in Game 3 with his team losing 2-0 in the series.
The Devils will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which will begin on Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders in six games.
It was a disappointing end to a promising season for the Rangers. Last season, New York advanced to the Eastern Conference playoffs after acquiring talented wingers Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko at the NHL trade deadline.
The Rangers had a great offensive pool, but coach Gerard Gallant claimed it wasn't enough. Gallant stated that his best players' effort against the Devils was "insufficient."
Some of the stars took the loss personally. After the game, Rangers player Chris Kreider, who led the series with six goals, was depressed, having been on the ice for all four Devils goals.
At 9:53 of the second period, Michael McLeod received a pass from Palat and fired a slow-motion backhand shot into the net.
At 15:39 of the second period, Tomas Tatar flicked the puck behind Shesterkin to make the score 2-0, and the Devils maintained that lead into the second interval.
Erik Haula's goal at 14:27 of the third period proved decisive for the Devils.
Bratt added an empty-netter to give the Devils a crushing victory over their opponent.