New Jersey Devils: Daws and Gillies Ruin Western Canada Trip
On a Western Canadian Road Trip, read how Nico Daws and Jon Gillies struggled as goaltending tandem on the trip for the Devils.
Coming into the season, the New Jersey Devils certainly have a lot of areas that still had a lot of problems. But the one issue we would never think we would see with this team is goaltending. First, they lose Mackenzie Blackwood due to a heel injury, and he hasn’t returned since. Then, they lost Jonathan Bernier to a hip injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. They have the tandem of rookie Nico Daws and veteran Jon Gillies, who they got in December. While Daws has had some success during the year, Gillies has been outright terrible. But both would suffer badly during the Devils’ recent road trip to Western Canada. The Devils would face the worst type of goaltending we’ve seen in a while.
Rookie Humiliation in Vancouver for Nico Daws
On the first stop of the road trip, the Devils would face the Canucks for the final time this year on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Devils beat the Canucks on the last day in February by a score of 7-2. With the rematch in Vancouver, Daws would get the nod to start in net. But for Daws, he would be humiliated early. The Canucks began the game but applied a lot of pressure, and just 4 minutes in, Brad Hunt scored the first goal as he fired a slap shot under the glove of Daws. Though Daws managed to make a couple of saves after, the continued pressure by Vancouver managed to break through Daws again. After making an initial save on a Bo Horvat shot, Daws forgets the cover the puck allowing Nils Hoglander to get the rebound to go up 2-0.
Even though the Devils would score two goals thanks to Ryan Graves and Jack Hughes, Daws’s night would worsen. In the 2nd period, Daws would give up, letting in two more goals, albeit very poorly played. The first one came when Bo Horvat took a slap shot that went off Daws’s arm due to him being way out of the crease. The second one came when Tanner Pearson, with the help of Tyler Meyers, deflected a shot that Daws couldn’t get there in time to make the save. Lindy Ruff finally decided to take out Daws and replace him with Jon Gillies for the rest of the game. The move didn’t work out as the Canucks scored two more goals in a 6-3 loss. Daws allowed four goals on 21 shots. While this would be Daws’ first bad game, you would think that the very next game would see Daws redeeming himself. It would end up getting worse for Daws.
Daws Ends Up Helpless in Calgary
The next day the Devils would travel to Calgary to play the Flames. The last time the Devils played the Flames was back in October. In that game, the Devils got outrun out of their building, Nico Daws struggled, and Ruff had to bring in Scott Wedgewood. But Daws would get a second chance not only against the Flames but also to rebound from the last loss.
Devastatingly, it didn’t turn out for a win for Daws. At first, the Devils began to outshoot the Flames early in the game. But on the Flames’ 3rd shot of the game, Brett Ritchie would score the first goal to put the Flames up 1-0. While Dawson Mercer would get the equalizer, the Flames’ best scorer was able to skate around the entire defense and bury one home to put the Flames up 2-1. Though the defense was an issue on the play, Daws couldn’t use his glove to stop the shot. The Devils would tie the game again thanks to P.K. Subban.
However, the Flames would make the game one-sided. The following two goals for the Flames came on two long-range passing setups plays. One goal was scored on a short breakaway by Dillon Dube that beat Daws short side. The other goal got scored by Matthew Tkachuk, who had a breakaway on a long pass from Erik Gudbranson.
So once again, for the second straight night, Daws would be taken out by Ruff, and Gillies would have to come in again for Daws. Like last game, the change did not save the Devils once again, and they would lose 6-3. So, while the goaltending was bad again, it wasn’t the most to blame. Due to being outskated, the Devils could not find any way to stop the speed and long passes. They just looked fatigued and couldn’t stop the Flames, causing Daws to try to do everything. The Devils would have to beat the Oilers to avoid going 0-3 in the Western Canadian road trip.
Jon Gillies Was Target Practice for the Oilers
The Devils would go to Edmonton to play Connor McDavid and the Oilers to end the road trip. The last game between them was on New Year’s Eve when the Devils won in O.T., thanks to Jack Hughes. In that game, the Oilers were relentless on the attack, shown in this game. As for who would start goalie, Ruff decided to switch it up, and Gillies would start the game—considering Daws’s two past bad games, the move made sense. But it still doesn’t excuse that Gillies was in for a bad performance. It wouldn’t take long for the Oilers to strike. A minute into the game, Leon Draisaitl outspeed Gillies, who wasn’t paying attention, to put the Oilers up 1-0. However, Jesper Bratt, who has the best season ever for the team, scored on a beautiful breakaway to tie the game at 1. While the game continued to be tied, Evander Kane had a wraparound chance that looked like Gillies saved it toward the end of the second period. However, the replay showed the puck crossing the line. Jay Woodcroft would eventually call the refs over to look that play over. The save got overturned, and the Oilers were up 2-1.
Early into the third period, the Devils were able to take the lead 3-2, thanks to goals by Jesper Bratt, who scored his second, and Nico Hischier. But eventually, the lead and the game got lost once the Oilers took over the game. Tyson Barrie scored the tying goal on a small corner that Daws didn’t see. Thanks to P.K. Subban tripping Leon Driasital, the Oilers scored on the powerplay while keeping the puck for most of the time. Thanks to Connor McDavid, the Oilers would score the go-ahead goal on the PP, while Evander Kane got the goal on the backhand.
Meanwhile, during all that, Gillies probably thought that Draisaitl was going to get the puck and went towards him, leaving the net open. Forty-nine seconds later, the Oilers would score again when Jesse Puljujarvi went behind Gillies. Out of the crease, Gillies didn’t pay attention as Puljujarvi passed it to Draisaitl, who then gave it to Zach Hyman to put it into the empty net.
The Oilers would score one more on a McDavid empty netter leading to another 6-3 loss on the road trip for the Devils. One big issue was the Devils’ special teams. The Devils went on four powerplays scoring zero times, while the Oilers went on three powerplays scoring once. Even though this was an issue, the goaltending for the entire trip was terrible. Both Daws and Gillies did not play well, and it shows how desperately the Devils need goaltending help. Daws can provide that he needs to play better; as for Gillies, its probably best if Fitzy starts looking for ways to find another team for him.