Should the New Jersey Devils Be Worried About Jake Allen?

The New Jersey Devils are 9-4-0 through 13 games. At one point, they had rattled off an eight-game winning streak after dropping the season opener. A significant part of the early success was attributed to the brilliant play of backup goalie Jake Allen. When Jacob Markstrom was injured back on October 13th, it was up to Allen to carry the bulk of the load. He did just that by winning each of his first five games. However, his last few starts have been anything but good, and now there are question marks about what his play of late could mean long-term.

In each of his last two games played, Allen has posted a 0-2-0 record, giving up eight goals in total. In addition, he's posted a rough .838 save percentage and a near 4.00 goals against average. With some of the goals he's conceded, they are ones Allen would like to have back. One example was the third goal scored by Cutter Gauthier in the second period of the Devils' 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night. It was a sharp-angle shot in which Allen wasn't hugging the post well enough, and it squeaked past him and in.

Overall, it wasn't a good game for Allen, and the question becomes whether this is a bad sign of things to come or a bump in the road. When you look at those last two games, it's understandable to think the former, given Allen's age (35) and usual regression goalies have once they reach their mid-30s. On the flip side, Allen has shown more of a body of work that is positive, given the way he played in each of his first five games. Another factor that is in play for the struggles in net is do to the struggles in front of the goalies.

The Devils are banged up on the backend with guys like Johnathan Kovacevic and Brett Pesce out, with the latter expected to return within the next month. Since those two have been on the mend, the Devils' defense has struggled mightily, and missing Pesce has become obvious. They gave up a ton of odd-man rushes, as well as giving opponents too much space to shoot. This has led to the goalies being overly relied upon to keep the team in games. So, it's not all on the goalies for why the team has struggled to keep the puck out of the net of late.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Devils' defense is a reason why Markstrom has also had struggles early on. Now, does that mean both goalies are exempt from blame? No, but it proves that the leakiness of play is not determined by who is between the pipes. For the Devils, the time to panic or worry is not here. The team is still in first place in the Metropolitan division and in the top four in the National Hockey League (NHL). It should also be noted that the organization has a lot of faith in both netminders, given the five-year pact Allen signed back in July and the recent two-year extension Markstrom committed to.

Both veteran goalies will bounce back as the season goes on, and when the Devils get their defense sorted and healthy, that will help as well. While Allen's play of late raises questions, there shouldn't be a concern right now about one of the most reliable backups in the league.