The New Jersey Devils were coming off a very exciting home opener, beating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime 3-2 on Thursday night. Jack Hughes scored the game winner in overtime, and they dominated in the process, even if Joseph Woll made his best attempt to steal the game.
On Saturday night, any good vibes from that game were erased. The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils 6-0. Yes, you read that right. The Devils have up six goals and scored zero. This team that was supposed to be different from last year’s team just got its teeth kicked in during their opponent’s home opener.
The Devils have lost six games in a row to the Islanders, including their last game at UBS Arena, when they lost 9-0. That was one of the most embarrassing games of this era. This one isn’t far behind it.
Nico Daws was the Devils' biggest problem and biggest long-term concern
There is going to be many points in October when the Devils’ issues can be chalked up to a shorter preseason and training camp and a lot of new pieces in the lineup. The power play is one example of that. The Devils PP is 0-for-8 to start the season. That’s very bad for a unit that’s fully healthy.
But that’s not nearly the ugliest takeaway from this game. That belongs to goaltender Nico Daws.
The Devils put all their eggs in the Daws basket when they traded Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers.
Right now, that looks really bad. Daws was dreadful in Game 2 against the Islanders. He started really well, stopping all shots in the first period and having one goal saved above expected.
Then, he allowed a goal. A side-to-side shot that hit the back of the net off the stick of Simon Holmstrom. The second goal was one that could not be scored. Daws mishandled a puck to his chest; it got tipped through his legs, and Brayden Schenn scored an easy goal. Then, after Cody Glass failed to clear a puck on the penalty kill (on admittedly a nice play by Matthew Schaefer), Bo Horvat got in a foot away from Daws, and he didn’t cover the left pipe for another easy goal.
In all, Daws allowed six goals on 32 shots. That’s a really bad performance by Daws. The Devils didn’t score, so we suppose it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but they need a better player out of Daws.
Jake Allen was good on Thursday. For now, he’s the starter. Remi Poirier is a great backup plan, and they might have to call on him sooner rather than later.
This Daws plan won't have a long leash. Especially with Poirier and David Rittich (who stopped 20 of 21 shots on Friday night for the Utica Comets) in the organization, Daws is going to have to bring it very quickly. He cannot be losing the Devils games.
We know the skill Daws has, but the results have been inconsistent at best. We need him to stop with the bad goals and work on the mechanics in those tense moments. It’s just one game, but it’s the first game. This is all we have to judge right now.
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