“It feels great,” said a visibly happy one Akira Schmid, who celebrated his first NHL shutout on Saturday. The New Jersey Devils won once morest the Philadelphia Flyers in Newark with a clear 7:0 and might rely on their three Swiss, who were the match winners of the evening.
At the Prudential Center, Schmid parried all 23 shots fired at him. “Obviously the players in front of me played fantastically and didn’t allow any chances. So they deserve the credit,” Schmid underscored the performance of their own defensive lines. For him it was a first in his NHL career. In the 16th match he was able to stay clean for the first time.
It is another milestone in Schmid’s development. The Swiss keeper worked his way into the AHL from the USHL as a 2018 fifth-round draft pick. He already showed outstanding performances for the Utica Comets last season (91.1 percent catch rate) and fought his way to six NHL appearances. Schmid has been on the ice in 20 games for Utica this season. His once more strong performances made for ten NHL matches.
The rapid development also comes very suddenly for Schmid. He might hardly believe it, explained the Bernese following the match once morest the Flyers: “You have to work hard and believe in yourself. Having a team like that in front of you makes it even easier.”
Video: PHI@NJD: Schmid stops the Flyers with 23 saves
In the best league in the world, Schmid was now able to fully convince. Even before his big day without conceding a goal, he had a catch rate of 91.9 percent and an average of 2.24 goals once morest. With the 23 saves, the values improved to a fantastic 92.7 percent and 1.98 goals conceded per match.
The shutout was Schmid’s right reaction to his last NHL appearance on January 5th. He conceded four goals in 22 shots once morest the St. Louis Blues. After that, he went straight back to the AHL, where he built self-confidence. “Obviously my previous match wasn’t good, so now I had to prove I might still do it.”
In addition to Schmid, the other Devils players also proved that the New Jersey team is one of the top teams in the league. For only the fourth time in franchise history, the Devils netted more than six times in a shutout. The last time that happened was on October 28, 2000, when they won 9-0 at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Until the start of the second period, it didn’t look like the Devils might produce a goal. After 20 minutes, both teams were still goalless before the second Swiss star of the evening rose. Jonas Siegenthaler, who had to pause a game as Healthy Scratch a week ago, netted to make it 1-0 and started an offensive firework for New Jersey. Siegenthaler’s wrist shot from the blue line went behind Samuel Ersson one who had to swallow another six goals.
“After I had to take a break, I started from scratch once more. I’m working on getting back to my best performances. I’m on the right track,” said the Swiss.
Video: PHI@NJD: Siegenthaler leads Devils to victory
It was Siegenthaler’s perfect reaction to the time-out he was ordered to take last Saturday. For the first time since January 10, he was able to net himself. In the meantime he managed only one submission. The Zurich-born defender used the upswing following the goal for two more assists. First he served Jack Hughes the puck to make it 2-0 before he does Dougie Hamilton assisted at 5:0.
After the encounter, Siegenthaler focused less on his own goal and more on the team’s defensive performance. “We started the match strong and didn’t give them much from the start. We lost few pucks and didn’t allow many counterattacks. That’s what we’ve focused on in the past few games and we performed well today.”
While Schmid, according to his own statement, dealt with the possible shutout at the earliest three to four minutes before the end of the game, he was much more important for Siegenthaler. “Obviously you want him to keep a clean sheet. It’s always nice when you can boost a goalkeeper’s confidence. He deserves it and we said to ourselves on the bench that we wanted to do that.”
Completed the perfect Swiss evening Nico Hischierwho made it 4-0 in the final section and before that the goal from Dawson Mercer to make it 3-0. Mercer scored for the sixth straight goal, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to do so.
In a game that ended up being clear, the Swiss of the Devils were convincing. “It’s always regarding the momentum. When things go well, good things happen,” said coach Lindy Ruff, summing up the Devils’ situation. Next up for New Jersey on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; NHL.tv; Thurs. 3 a.m. ET) when they visit the Colorado Avalanche and look to prove they can take the Swiss run with them.