In a lost season for the New Jersey Devils, they appear to be riding their two goalies in a 50/50 split. Is that the right approach to end the season?
The struggling New Jersey Devils made it clear that their intentions were to sell off expiring contracts in this lost season. That included goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Kinkaid spent the last year and a half of his Devils tenure as the defacto starter. In Cory Schneider‘s absence due to injury and struggles to play like his old self, he held the fort down.
With Schneider finding his game, and the rise of the young man MacKenzie Blackwood it was clear that Kinkaid was the odd man out and he is now a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Keith was along with Taylor Hall, the key cog in getting the Devils back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
Now that he is gone, Schneider and Blackwood is the tandem moving forward. They have been splitting the starts 50/50 since trading Kinkaid. Is that the right way to handle it? I would say it is. This season is not going anywhere other than getting a look at players for next season. That is exactly why they should get a look at both of them. Whoever plays better will get a bulk of the games next year when they hope to be a better and healthier hockey club.
It might be hard to win games for either goalie the rest of the way because of all the injuries. Most of their best scorers are out of their lineup making it hard to get any goal support. That doesn’t mean that each guy can simply play well and be confident and hungry for next season going into the summer. Both guys will train and prepare to come to training camp with the mindset that it is their net to take.
The fact of the matter is the Devils will need both guys to play well if they want to be a good team next year. With a hopefully healthy Taylor Hall in the lineup all season and hopefully more injury luck in general, they will be able to do some of the things they did in 2017-18. Maybe they won’t be world beaters, but there is no doubt in anyone rationals mind that injuries cost the Devils a chance this year.
It is probably good to see as much of each goalie as possible the rest of the season as we look for positives and reasons to watch. It might be hard to watch some of these games here to end the season, but we encourage everyone to watch and support this team because brighter days are ahead.