Thirty-two games into the season, the New Jersey Devils' points percentage is seventh best in the league. That stat is the most important, as it will determine whether they are playing for a Stanley Cup or golfing come mid-April.
But since we've got enough stats now to be able to selet's take a look at one stat in which each Devils player excels compared to the rest of the NHL. In this final part of the series, we will look at both goalies who have started a game for the Devils this season, Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen.
This analysis is a bit more difficult than the ones for the Devils' forwards and defensemen since by most metrics Markstrom and Allen have been closer to league average than tops among goalies in the league. But there are still aspects of the game that both have excelled in, and if they can elevate their game in other areas, it could be enough to lead the Devils to success in the playoffs. All stats referenced are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick or MoneyPuck. We decided to set the baseline at 5 games played or 300 minutes of ice time this season to filter out the third-string goalie cameos. That left us with 68 qualified goalies.
Jacob Markstrom - High Danger Unblocked Shot Save Percentage (.865, 7th in NHL)
The most highly cited stat that became Jacob Markstrom's calling card when the Devils acquired him this past season was that, per NHL EDGE stats, Markstrom led the NHL in high-danger save percentage (.857) last season with the Calgary Flames and was tied for fifth in total high-danger saves (359). That success has transferred to this season, as according to MoneyPuck, Markstrom has the seventh-best rate of high-danger unblocked shots saved this season in all situations.
Though the team has been much better in preventing high-danger shots (dropping from the 4th most allowed to the 23rd most allowed) this season, Markstrom's ability to make the difficult save has made every Devils defenseman more confident defending odd-man rushes. Now, if only he could also stop letting in softballs on low-danger shots on goal. He ranks just 48th out of 68 goalies with a 0.970 save percentage on low-danger unblocked shots.
Jake Allen - Goals Saved Above Expected/60 - (.264, 16th in NHL)
While Allen has only been called upon for 10 of the Devils' 32 games played this season, and he is currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury, he has been a steadying force for the Devils as a backup goalie capable of stealing a win. He's currently tied for fourth in the league with two shutouts. But even when he is not shutting out opponents, he has consistently given the Devils a chance to win by letting up fewer goals than the opponents' shot quality says he should allow.
The rate of a goal saved every four starts or so on average doesn't sound particularly dominant, but when put in the context of other backup goalies around the league, Allen's ability to keep games close is a huge asset for the Devils. Among backup/1B goalies this year, Allen ranks 6th behind prominent names John Gibson & Joseph Woll. This is vastly different than in recent years when the Devils 1A was not in the lineup, where the team was getting near bottom of the barrel production from their 1B options.