Devils shut out Rangers to win Game 7, move on to face Hurricanes in Stanley Cup Playoffs

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The New Jersey Devils, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2018, will continue on their journey to the Stanley Cup as they defeated their Hudson River rival, the New York Rangers, 4-0, in Game 7 of their first round series. 

With their first playoff series win in 11 years, the Devils will now head down to Carolina to face the Hurricanes, who took care of the New York Islanders in six games in their first round matchup. 

It felt like all Devils throughout this game, as they were constantly pressuring the Rangers on both ends of the ice. New York's netminder Igor Shesterkin, though, kept his team in the game after a scoreless first period, but the Devils finally broke through in the second.

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Michael McLeod #20 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his second period goal against Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Prudential Center on May 01, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The first goal of the game came from an unexpected player, as Michael McLeod dangled his way around Igor Shesterkin, who was in a full split after Ondrej Palat deked his way around two Rangers and sent a beautiful saucer pass to his teammate’s stick. 

It was a short-handed goal for the Devils, though a 4-on-4 tilt just ticked off the clock. This is McLeod’s first Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, as this is his first playoff series as well. 

But the Devils’ momentum, which seemed to stay on their side of the bench throughout the second period, reached an even higher level when John Marino sped toward net with