When it comes to the New Jersey Devils, there is a lot to like so far.
For starters, Jack Hughes is doing it all for the hockey club. He currently leads the team and the league with 18 points (five goals and 13 assists) in his club’s first eight games.
Newcomer Tyler Toffoli is also off to a great start this season. He is currently third on the team in scoring 10 points on seven goals and three assists.
As a whole, the team is off to a solid start. They are currently second in the Metropolitan Division at 5-2-1 for 11 points, just one point behind the division-leading New York Rangers.
At least to start the season, they are showing that last season is not a fluke. With all of that said, however, there is one area of their game that has been concerning.
This area was not much of a concern last year, but right now, it is showing its ugly head. Simply put, the team’s goaltending has been a weakness so far.
The Devils are currently 26th in the league in goals allowed, as they have given up 29 goals in eight games and are close to averaging four goals allowed per game (3.63). After not going out and acquiring Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets in the offseason, which was a strong rumor, the team decided to stick with a tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid this season.
For a team that is supposed to be considered a strong Cup contender, this tandem has not gotten the job done so far despite the fact that the team has a winning record. Vanecek, 27, is currently 4-2 with a 3.24 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
Those are not great numbers for someone who was excellent last year. In the team’s record-breaking season, Vanecek was 33-11-0-4 with a 2.45 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage, and three shutouts.
Schmid, 23, helped the Devils knock out the Rangers in the first round last season and showed an ability to play well in big games. In the postseason last year, he went 4-4 with a 2.35 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and two shutouts, with one of them coming in their Game 7 victory over the Blueshirts.
The start of this season has been a bit rough so far. Schmid is currently 1-0-0-1 with a 4.07 goals-against average and a .863 save percentage.
What is not helping either Vanecek or Schmid is that the team is currently 19th in the league in shots allowed per game. They give up approximately 31 shots per game, which makes sense because the Devils put a lot of focus on their offensive game.
While playing better defensively can certainly help their goaltenders, both Vanecek and Schmid need to do a better job of a few things. They need to cut down on giving juicy rebounds, and they need to do a better job of not giving up both a lot of goals and soft goals as well.
If the Devils can play better team defense and both Vanecek and Schmid can provide good goaltending on a consistent basis, this team will end up having a great regular season and may be an even better postseason if their goaltending exceeds expectations. That is certainly the hope, right?
If neither of those things happens, the team could end up in serious trouble when it matters most.
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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