Red Wings 5, Devils 3: Sunk by goaltending

The Devils responded in a big way against the Red Wings. Unfortunately, Jacob Markstrom (and, at times, the officials) let them down.

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A few notes following New Jersey vs. Detroit

Goaltending woes continued 📉

Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen combined to stop only 81% of the shots they faced in underwhelming losses to Washington and Tampa Bay.

I thought last night would be a perfect Get Right game for Markstrom, going up against a Red Wings team that spends most of each game on their heels and generates very little at the other end. Apparently not!

Markstrom predictably saw next to no volume, facing only 19 shots. He still conceded four goals and was clearly outclassed by the guy at the other end. You know, the one making ~40% of Markstrom’s salary and facing twice the volume of shots.

It wasn’t just that Markstrom conceded goals. He conceded bad goals. For example, the Patrick Kane goal that turned out to be the winner.

Kane is a great talent but he’s above the dots taking a shot against a squared-up goalie with no traffic in front. It’s a shot that should be saved – and it wasn’t.

Forget anything else that happened. If Markstrom stops that shot, and that shot only, there’s a good chance the Devils win the game. Instead, they don’t even get a point.

I don’t think it’s time to panic considering Markstrom was elite just a handful of months ago. Having said that, the Devils need a lot better than they’ve gotten from him (and Jake Allen, for that matter) of late.

The Devils have a .798 team save percentage over the past three games. There is just no margin for error when getting that kind of goaltending and there’s no better example than last night.

New Jersey railroaded an inferior team, scoring three times and generating 20 more shots than they gave up. All they got for their efforts was a regulation loss.

The Devils dominated the puck 🏒