Cory Schneider was activated off of injured reserve right before the New Jersey Devils broke up for the bye week and All-Star break. He has missed a bit of time due to his injury, but made a rehab start with the Binghamton Devils on Monday night.
The Binghamton Devils lost the game by a final score of 2-1 to the Syracuse Crunch. The one goal came via the power play when John Quenneville scored his 10th AHL goal of the season. The Crunch outshot the Devils 23-20, so not that bad.
Schneider giving up two goals in the minors is not terrible. One might think a goalie that used to be one of the best in the world would go down there and get a shutout, but the AHL is a very different game. There is obviously less skill which could lead to less structure which could lead to the position of goaltender harder to play.
Schneider did give up the two goals, but they were both in the first period where they were outshot 9-2. Schneider and the Devils settled down the rest of the game even though the comeback came up short by a goal. Schneider made 21 saves on 23 shots in the loss.
What is next for Cory Schneider? Nobody really knows yet. It is likely his conditioning loan will continue as the big club is on its bye week going into the All-Star Break. The Binghamton Devils are in Rochester on Wednesday for a game. They also have a home game on Friday vs the Hartford Wolf Pack and Saturday night against the Wilkes/Barre Scranton Penguins. Schneider will likely see one if not both of those games.
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The big-league club reconvenes on Sunday, and it is possible that if Cory Schneider is feeling good about his game he could join them. They have a game on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins to open the post All-Star portion of their schedule.
Devils fans should be rooting for Cory Schneider. If they had the Schneider of old with this team, they would be much higher in the standings. With Taylor Hall playing the way he has, with Nico Hischier emerging into a very good player, all the things that this team looks at in a positive note. If they had that Cory last season, maybe they would not have drawn the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
I would say the way Schneider played last night and his attitude about the whole this is a positive sign. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. The
Devils need Cory Schneider, at least in the immediate future.