The 2024-2025 regular season is two games old, and the New Jersey Devils are in pretty good shape. After much anticipation and excitement heading into the new season, this Devils squad answered the bell and then some, outscoring a mismatched Sabres squad 7-2 in a back-to-back sweep in Prague. Many things to discuss and take away from these games as the Devils head back home to Jersey.
New Jersey Devils Goaltending Looks Promising
The elephant in the room for a while will be Jacob Markstrom’s save-of-the-year candidate. His athleticism to twist his body, stretch his blocker side, and stop a shot with the paddle of his stick was a sight for sore eyes for Devils fans everywhere. However, looking at both games from the outside, one of the takeaways must be the excellent play of both goaltenders.
Speak of the (New Jersey) devil, Markstrom backstopped the opening night victory on Friday with a stellar performance, posting a near .970 SV% and making 30 saves on 31 shots. Now, Markstrom, unlike the Devils’ goalies of the past few seasons, has tremendous confidence, including playing the puck. Although there were moments when his puck play led to turnovers, the Devils, with their speed, were attentive and vigilant with their zone coverage and able to mitigate any potential Buffalo opportunities. Markstrom's dominant performance set a precedent for what will come.
In the second half of the back-to-back, Jake Allen stepped in and more than did his part in making sure the Devils would leave Prague with four points, not just two. The Sabres got off to a better start in Saturday’s matchup but had only one goal to show for it. One could make the case that Buffalo had more quality scoring opportunities with less volume in the second matchup.
Whether or not that is true, Allen posted a .944 SV%, stopping 17 pucks on 18 total shots. When play opened up and a save needed to be made, Jake Allen got it done, which was more than what the Devils could ask for from their backup so early in the season.