New Jersey Devils Most Important Goal Is Getting Cory Schneider Win
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils have many short-term goals they want to accomplish, but some are more important than others. On the top of the list should be getting Cory Schneider a win.
It was another ugly loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Coming 24 hours after a huge win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils fans were once again falling into the negative after this loss. It was a poor effort all around, one that was unfortunate with goalie Cory Schneider in net.
Schneider is coming off injury, of course. He had hip surgery in the offseason, and is seeing his first NHL game action. Keith Kinkaid is currently holding down the fort as the starter, but Schneider could take back his net with some good performances.
That’s not what we’ve seen so far. Was Tuesday’s trash performance Schneider’s fault? Absolutely not. However it definitely didn’t help his confidence.
Schneider has this loss streak looming over him. He hasn’t won a regular season game in the 2018 calendar year. He did win the Devils only postseason game, but we’ll ignore that for now. Schneider has had some back luck, and some bad performances to mix into this losing streak.
He’s started 12 games in this calendar year. An injury in January and Kinkaid’s rise are the reasons why he hasn’t seen much game action. Also, he hasn’t won a game. Goalies who can’t at least attempt to put the team on his back and win by himself when given that many chances don’t get as many starts.
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There are many goals the Devils are trying to strive for, but getting Schneider a win must be on top of that list. This losing streak has to end if the Devils are going to turn this season around. Kinkaid is a good enough goalie, but he’s in no place to carry the team for a full season.
If the Devils are going to be successful, they need Kinkaid and Schneider playing at their best. That means both of them getting their save percentage above .915 and allowing two goals or less per game on most nights.
This doesn’t happen if Schneider’s confidence is lost. He needs to get an easy win. We saw last year in the playoffs that it only takes one great performance to regain his confidence. If he gets that big win, he can turn it into three and four big performances. It all starts with one.
The next time Schneider is in net, the rest of the Devils need to step up their game. Obviously, the Devils players don’t try to play worse when he’s in net, but it sure looks that way. This time, they need to play at their best to get their goalie the win.