Goalies: Jake Allen
Grade: A
Jake Allen has only played seven games this season, but he was downright dominant in five of them. He has two shutouts in those seven games. His ratio is crazy, as he has a .916 save percentage and 2.30 goals against average. However, he has one game where the entire crux of Devils goaltending was put into question. He allowed eight goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning, looking like a lost goalie in the pipes. Luckily for the Devils, Allen pretty quickly bounced back, and he’s been able to secure wins for the team single-handedly.
Jacob Markstrom
Grade: B
The Devils have two high-quality goalies in between the pipes. Jacob Markstrom hasn’t been stupendous to start his Devils career, but he hasn’t had to be. His .907 save percentage is enough to get wins on most nights. He has saved quite a few goals he definitely shouldn’t have been able to, but he’s also let in some stinkers. It all evens out for Markstrom to start the season. Yet, there’s a clear confidence the Devils have when Markstrom is playing. They know he’s going to have their backs, and it’s a completely different understanding than the Devils had last season. Having a useful goalie in net on a nightly basis is invaluable to this roster after what they’ve been through in the past however many years it has been since Martin Brodeur became a St. Louis Blues legend.