Devils vs. Rangers prediction: Will goaltenders shine again in Game 4?

The New Jersey Devils made a much-needed — and one could argue series-saving — goaltending change Saturday against the New York Rangers.

Meanwhile, the Rangers’ netminder once again flashed his elite skills, despite being saddled with an overtime defeat.

The end result was a 2-1 final in Game 3 and the first easy Under in this opening-round best-of-7 series.

Will a similar defensive battle unfold Monday night when the series resumes at Madison Square Garden? That’s certainly what we’re projecting with our Devils vs. Rangers Game 4 prediction.

Odds updated as of 11:20 a.m. ET on April 24.

Unless you’re a diehard New Jersey Devils fan, you probably were unfamiliar with the name Akira Schmid as recently as Saturday morning.

A 22-year-old rookie from Switzerland, Schmid appeared in just 18 regular-season games (16 starts) as New Jersey’s third-string goaltender.

That lack of experience didn’t stop the Devils’ brain trust from turning to Schmid for Game 3 after starting goaltender Vitek Vanecek surrendered nine total goals in a pair of 5-1 home losses to start this series.

Schmid made his bosses look brilliant, as he turned aside 35 of 36 shots in helping New Jersey to its first playoff victory since 2014.

Schmid of course got a lot of help from the teammates playing in front of him, as the Devils’ defensive effort was substantially better than it was in Games 1 and 2. That includes stamping out all five of New York’s power-play opportunities after giving up four goals in 10 penalty-kills opportunities in the first two contests.

It’s difficult to envision Schmid being any better in Game 4 than he was Saturday. But it’s also difficult to envision him being much worse. With his Game 3 performance, Schmid is now 10-5-2 as a starter. And he sports a sterling 2.04 goals-against average and .962 save percentage.

Is 18 games and 16 starts a small sample size? Sure. But you can’t argue with the results.

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Nor can you argue with the job Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin has done against the Devils through the first three games.

Facing one of the NHL’s most potent offenses, Shesterkin has surrendered just four goals on 80 shots. Throw in a 2-1 loss at New Jersey on March 30, and Shesterkin has yielded just six goals in his last four games against New Jersey (109 shots).

That sensational .971 save percentage is a far cry from the .908 save percentage that Shesterkin posted in his first three starts against his cross-state rivals this season (10 goals allowed, also in 109 shots).

Also worthy of mentioning is the fact that Shesterkin has allowed two goals or fewer in six consecutive home playoff games. His goals-against average during this stretch: 1.67.

That’s a long way of saying that we trust the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner to keep the Devils at bay again Monday night.

And while Schmid is more of a question mark, he at least will stand between the pipes with a ton of confidence after his Game 3 performance. And even if Schmid surrenders three goals — something he’s done in just six of his 18 games this season — we can’t see the Rangers matching that tally against Shesterkin.

Besides, as we’ve seen over the years, NHL playoff games tend to get more and more defensive as a series progresses. There’s no reason to think that won’t be the case in this rivalry clash, especially with series momentum on the line in Game 4 — either the Rangers take a commanding 3-1 series lead or the Devils head back home tied 2-2.

So look for the same kind of conservative, defensive-minded hockey we saw in Game 3 and bet on the two teams combining for five goals or fewer.

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