Goaltender Schmid has Devils back in series with Rangers

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A couple of days before the New Jersey Devils opened their first-round playoff series with the New York Rangers, backup goaltender Akira Schmid came off the ice after practice, took off his equipment and sat in front of his locker.

Every once in a while a reporter would approach and the shoot the breeze for a minute or so. Former goaltender and sportscaster Chico Resch spent roughly five minutes with the Swiss netminder, talking shop and life.

Life was easy being a backup, even though Schmid had no idea whether he or Mackenzie Blackwood would dress as the No. 2 once the postseason started. Schmid got the assignment.

Things have changed. When Schmid finished practice on Wednesday and sat down in front of his locker, he drew a crowd.

The 6-foot-5 goaltender is one of the main reasons the Devils have evened their best-of-seven series at 2-2 after dropping the opening two games at home by a combined 10-2 margin.

Since taking over for Vitek Vanecek in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, Schmid had stopped 57 of 59 shots in helping the Devils earn a 2-1 overtime win followed by a 3-1 victory in Game 4 Monday night.

The series returns to the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Thursday with the 22-year-old Schmid now locked in as the starting goaltender after splitting the season between the Devils and their top minor league team in Utica, New York.

“I think we’re seeing what we saw when we played him for the most part,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “Everybody says the playoffs are a different type of game. I think his game, it looks a lot like it did when we put him in.”

Schmid played in 18 games this season for New Jersey, posting a 9-5-2 record with a 2.13 goals-against average.

Teammates described Schmid as calm and that's what he was in the past two games, despite the Devils being on their heels after winning a franchise-record 52 games in the regular season.

“You can’t let it get to your head or worry about it too much,” Schmid said of taking over. “You just got to treat it like any other game. And if you think about it too much, you get too nervous or whatever. It has to be like that. That’s all you can do. Play your game. Play it simple.”

Ruff said he expected to see some jitters in Game 3, but they never showed up. Schmid was calm. He stayed focused on his job, put himself in good position in the net and handled what was sent his way. What he didn't see, hit him.

That's called good positioning, or luck, whichever.

Schmid has not had the easiest road to the NHL. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL draft by New Jersey.

He went to training camp and the team told him to go to Lethbridge in the WHL for seasoning. He lasted one game and was cut.

He eventually signed with Corpus Christi of the North American Hockey League and played two games before being released. He eventually found work in the USHL, a junior hockey league based in the U.S. He spent three seasons at Omaha and Sioux City before signing an entry level contract with the Devils in May 2021.

Schmid spent the 2021-22 season mostly at Utica (AHL) and had six games with the Devils, who used seven goaltenders that season. This past year, it was 23 games in the AHL and 18 in the NHL.

Now he's in the middle of a Stanley Cup showdown between the two New York river rivals.

“Everyone has a different path,” he said. "Mine was a bit complicated, but I mean, everyone else has their own path to get to where they are in life.”

Devils captain Nico Hischier knew Schmid could play well.

“Surprised is the wrong word,” Hischier said of his fellow Swiss countryman. “We knew he was a really good goalie. Obviously I was surprised he could step it up when we needed him the most. It's not easy in the spotlight of MSG. Big props for him.”

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