New Jersey Devils Cannot Trust Keith Kinkaid Anymore
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils lost another decision, this time to the Calgary Flames. Some odd goals ended up being the downfall once again.
The New Jersey Devils are in a pretty bad spot right now. With so much on the line with each game, they are forced to play without their starting goaltender Cory Schneider. He’s been out with a groin injury, and his return in nowhere close.
His backup, Keith Kinkaid, was able to hold down the fort for a week, but that magic is now gone. After he played so poorly against the Ottawa Senators, he followed that up with three pretty soft goals against the Calgary Flames. Honestly, it could have been more.
I’m not going to sit here and say all three goals were Kinkaid’s fault, but the totality of the effort was not there. I think we can all forgive him for allowing a goal to Johnny Gaudreau on a breakaway. However, the two goals he allowed to Sean Monahan probably should have been stopped.
Kinkaid was about three feet outside his crease on the initial shot from Dougie Hamilton, and Monahan was able to score probably the easiest goal of his career off the rebound. There was literally no chance to save it.
On his second goal, which made it 3-1 Flames, he beat Kinkaid twice. He hit the post with his first shot, skated around the net, then threw in the rebound.
After a bad second period, Kinkaid was able to keep the Flames off the board in the third period. Well, that’s probably because the Flames were only able to get one shot the entire period.
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Kinkaid has fallen off the map this season. Admittedly, he’s a great teammate and a wonderful presence in the locker room, but that hasn’t translated onto the ice. In 19 games, he has a .893 save percentage and a 3.12 goals against average. He is one of five goalies who qualify for stats yet has an under .900 save percentage. The other four play for non-playoff teams.
The Devils just need more from a backup, especially one that will need to start. It’s time to give Eddie Lack a chance to take over the backup position. At least, give him a shot to play until Schneider gets back. Lack has NHL experience. This isn’t throwing MacKenzie Blackwood into the position. This is a guy who was in a bad situation and that turned into bad play. Now that Lack has a brand new chance, he can show he’s still an NHL goalie.
Schneider isn’t even really skating right now. That means the injury will have him out for a few more games. If Lack can show something, and the Devils decide that Kinkaid is good enough to backup Schneider, then the Devils can flip Lack at the deadline. It’s a win-win for the team to give Lack a shot. Kinkaid just isn’t doing it. No matter how fun his emoji game recaps are.