The New Jersey Devils made two goalie moves at the NHL Trade Deadline. Devils President/GM Tom Fitzgerald acquired Jake Allen from Montreal and Kaapo Kahkonen from San Jose. Allen has been superb for the Devils in three starts, giving the team stability to a position that has been shaky all season long.
Allen stopped 36 of 38 shots as the Devils defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Tuesday night. New Jersey moved to 7-0 in their past seven games against the Penguins, and Allen was a big reason. He made two highlight-reel saves late in period one: one on Sidney Crosby and another on Marcus Pettersson.
Again, Allen made the saves he needed to make to give the Devils a chance to win. The Devils have been missing consistent and timely goaltending this season, and Allen has provided that. As Tanya Tucker’s song lyrics go, “It is a little too late to do the right thing now.”
Despite the naysayers, Allen is performing well. In three games, Allen has stopped 104 of his last 108 shots faced overall. He has a record of 2-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage. Again, it is a small sample size, but he gives the team in front of him much confidence to play their game.
“A lot. Yeah, he’s played great in all three games,” Devils Interim head coach Travis Green said post-game. “Much like Jarry made some big saves early, Jake made some big ones later. At this time of the year, goaltending is a big part of the game.”
Devils: What is the Biggest Priority For The New Jersey Devils This Offseason?
Playoffs: 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Wild Card Spots Up For Grabs In Eastern Conference
Many times this season, the Devils will have one of their goalies perform like Allen did Tuesday night, but they cannot carry it over into the next game. Allen has had three good starts. It is a small sample, but coming over from Montreal, where he played in a three-goalie rotation, to this situation in New Jersey has given him life and a newfound confidence.
“I thought the guys have been playing fairly solid for the most part,” Jake Allen said post-game. “We just have struggled to find a couple of goals and find pucks in the net to get a little bit of confidence. But I thought tonight, there was a confident group in front of me. So I see that, and I feed off of it as well.”
Allen has been solid in all three games he has played in. The Devils could not reward him against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, but against Dallas and now Pittsburgh, the Devils offense is showing up. Timo Meier had two more goals. Dawson Mercer had two goals, and even Alexander Holtz chipped in with a goal.
The players are feeding off the energy their goaltender is bringing. You can tell the Devils are playing differently, knowing a guy back there can make a save. They also played better defensively, moving pucks away from the high-danger areas. But when they did not, Allen was there to make the save.
Again, it is fair to question why this move was not made sooner. Allen even stated he was still determining the direction earlier in the season. He had to waive his no-trade clause to come from Montreal to New Jersey. At the time, the Devils had Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid.
However, there would not be a three-goalie system in New Jersey like in Montreal. Schmid would have returned to the minors to play if Allen had arrived sooner. The Devils just sent Nico Daws down to develop. It is Allen and Kahkonen the rest of the way out.
But in the bigger games, it should be Allen. With Jake Allen fresh and ready to play and looking for ice time, the Devils need to ride him as far as he can—every game matters. Every point matters since the Devils are still in a playoff race. The odds are against them. And even if they don’t get in, the Devils know they have a good 1B next year to pair with a number one goalie they get in the summer.
More must-reads: