New Jersey Devils: Top 5 Saves This Season
The Devils’ goaltending job has been a group effort this season, and along the way, there have been some jaw-dropping saves.
Entering the season, many pundits expected the Devils to be near the bottom of the season-end standings, and Cory Schneider was predicted to be the only thing keeping them afloat. The pundits, of course, were wrong about the Devils place in the standings (that’s why they play the game, as they say). Unfortunately, they were also wrong about Cory Schneider having another other-worldly season.
Cory Schneider’s 2017-2018 campaign has been one of the worst of his career. Various injuries have plagued him throughout the season, and his save percentage is a horrid (by his lofty standards) .909%. Aside from last season, Schneider had never had a save percentage lower than .921% in any season in which he played more than 8 games. Keith Kinkaid, on the other hand, has enjoyed a career year and has helped the Devils salvage middle-of-the-pack goaltending on the season (they rank 16th in the NHL in goals allowed per game).
Though Schneider has had a rocky season, he has shown flashes of greatness with spectacular saves, while Kinkaid has been dependable all year and stopped some shots which seemed like sure-goals. Here are the Devils’ five finest saves this season.
Honorable Mentions
Keith Kinkaid on Derek Ryan, game 57
The Hurricanes throw the puck on net, and after Kinkaid makes the initial save, Hurricanes forward Derek Ryan finds the puck with what seems like an empty net. Kinkaid lunges to make the save, stopping the puck with the hand of his blocker to preserve the one-goal lead (watch the play here).
Not only is this save spectacular, but how often do you see a goalie make a save with the blocker-hand? I am not sure I have ever seen a save quite like it.
Cory Schneider on Kyle Connor, game 68
Dmitry Kulikov rips a point shot and Kyle Connor deflects the puck right in front of the net. The puck slips through Schneider’s legs due to the deflection and rolls towards the goal line. As this happens, Schneider reaches back with his stick and wacks the puck away just before it goes into the net.
Not only does Schneider have the head to realize the puck snuck past him, but he keeps his cool and calmly turns around to hit the puck away from the goal. Vintage Cory Schneider.
Number Five
Cory Schneider on Patrick Marleau, game 17
After a shot from the point rattles around in front of Cory Schneider, the puck squirts loose and slowly rolls towards goal. Patrick Marleau sees the puck and makes a beeline to the net to try to hammer home the puck. Cory Schneider reaches behind him and snatches the puck with his glove before Marleau could hammer home an empty-netter, and then somehow keeps the puck under his glove and out of the net as Zach Hyman and Patrick Marleau dig at the puck.
Schneider has both the reflexes to gobble up the puck with his glove, beating out the goal-hungry Marleau, and the strength to keep his glove on the ice and out of the net. Perhaps this is not the flashiest save or the one that will make the save-of-the-year highlight reels, but a save like this tells you more about a goalie then the type of save where the netminder hopelessly dives across to make a save and lucks out when the puck hits the blade of his outreached stick. This is a save that requires smarts, skills, and reflexes. Not many goaltenders in the world would have been able to keep the puck out the net on this play.
Number Four
Keith Kinkaid on Rick Nash, game 29
A 2-on-1 develops for the shorthanded Rangers as Kevin Hayes skates into the zone with Rick Nash. Will Butcher, the lone Devil back, is only trying to stop the pass, allowing Hayes a free shot at the net. In this scenario, the goaltender (Keith Kinkaid) is expected to only worry about the shot while the defender (Butcher) has the passing lane covered. However, Butcher does not execute well and allows Kevin Hayes’ pass to reach Rick Nash. The pass is right in the wheelhouse for Rick Nash who blasts a one-timer towards goal. Kinkaid is forced to dive across and stones Nash cold with an extraordinary glove save.
When you consider how much was working against Kinkaid on this play, the save becomes even more remarkable. First off, the two players on the 2-on-1, Hayes and Nash, are both extremely capable shooters and passers. Secondly, Kinkaid was only supposed to be focused on the shot, as Butcher was assumed to be blocking the pass. Furthermore, Rick Nash got all of the one-timer and put it in a great spot, and to top it all off, Kinkaid likely wasn’t expecting anything to develop in the first place since the Devils were on the powerplay. Still, Kinkaid managed to lunge across and rob an absolute blast from Rick Nash.
Number Three
The number three spot is occupied by neither Cory Schneider nor Keith Kinkaid. Your next guess may be Eddie Lack, or perhaps Kevin Appleby, but neither of them made the 3rd-best save. Considering that these are the only players to suit up in net for the Devils this season, who could it possibly be?
Andy Greene on Radim Vrbata, game 16
Cory Schneider makes the initial save on a blast from the point, and the puck goes to his right. Schneider is forced to move all the way to the right to block any shot attempt, and Panthers forward Radim Vrbata picks the puck up in stride and winds around the back of the net. Schneider has no chance of getting across in time but Andy Greene, reading the play all the way, somehow gets across the crease and slides to block a sure-goal from Radim Vrbata.
Andy Greene has shown to be a focused and reliable defender for the Devils season after season. There’s a reason why he’s the one wearing the “C”. He has been rock-solid for the Devils in his long career, and he’s shown that he doesn’t need to make the highlight-reel to have a significant impact on a nightly basis.
Still, it has to feel nice to make a play like this. What makes this stop even more marvelous is that Andy Greene had the presence of mind to slide, thus taking away the bottom of the net, instead of diving, which would have allowed an unelevated shot into the net.
Number Two
Cory Schneider on Jamie Benn, game 32
As the Devils tried to stave off the Stars with a two-goal lead, Schneider made one of the best saves of the season. Brian Gibbons blocked a shot attempt from the point, but the puck rolled right to Stars forward Alexander Radulov with an open shooting lane. Stars forward Patrick Sharp was completely obstructing Schneider’s vision as Radulov made the extra pass to Stars forward Jamie Benn in the slot. Benn quickly fired towards goal and Schneider, with Patrick Sharp draped all over him (and seemingly interfering with him), dove out to make a sprawling glove save for the ages. The replay made the save look even better.
Words cannot do justice to this save. With Patrick Sharp practically tackling him, Schneider never loses sight of the puck and dives out to stone Jamie Benn. Not only is this one of the best saves of the season for the Devils, but in terms of skill and focus required to make a save, this has gotta be close to the top of the NHL-wide season rankings. This save was simply stunning.
Number One
Keith Kinkaid on Jeff Skinner, game 76
Jeff Skinner comes in all alone with the Hurricanes already leading 2-1. If he scores this goal, the complexity of the game changes. The Devils could have very well lost the game altogether, which would have hampered the Devils’ playoff hope substantially. Jeff Skinner puts a move on Keith Kinkaid to get himself an empty net to shoot at, but Keith Kinkaid refuses to give up, reaching back with the blade of his stick. Somehow, the puck hits the stick of Kinkaid and stays out of the net, and the Devils go on to win the game in dramatic fashion.
The emotional rollercoaster of this play, combined with the absolute desperation from Keith Kinkaid and the importance of this game, is what makes this the number one save. Watching the game live, Devils fans’ hearts dropped when they saw a breakaway develop out of an innocent play, and then completely sunk as they watched Skinner get around Kinkaid. It looked like putting the puck in the net was all but a formality, and the Devils appeared well on their way to a regulation loss.
But on a play that sums up the Devils season, Kinkaid refused to give up on the play. The Devils were counted out at the start of the year, and then again as they started to slide in January, and then once more in March, as the Panthers were hot and the Devils were sliding and facing a hellish slate littered with playoff opponents.
But they refused to give into the narrative that they would have to wait another season to get a taste of the playoffs. And Kinkaid would not watch the puck enter his net without at least putting up a final fight.
Next: New Jersey Devils: Top 5 Goals This Season
Maybe Kinkaid is not the best goalie in the league, and maybe the Devils are not the most skilled team in the NHL. But neither of them are going down without a fight. Underestimate them at your own peril.
All statistics courtesy of Hockey Reference, unless otherwise noted