Uh-Oh, New Jersey Devils Goaltending Suddenly Thin?

When the New Jersey Devils took the ice for practice Monday afternoon, they only had one of their two goaltenders in attendance.

Jake Allen missed Monday’s practice, and according to Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe, he is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.

Perhaps it’s related, perhaps it’s not. But, in the second period of the Devils’ 4-0 shutout loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Allen was a bit slow to stand up after making a save at the end of the middle frame. He did, however, finish the game by making 19 saves on 22 shots and stopping all five pucks he saw in the second period.

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Keefe went on to explain Jake Allen may be unavailable to back up goaltender Jacob Markstrom on Tuesday when the Devils host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Injuries are to be expected, and the hope is this shouldn’t be a huge impact on the ice. However, after Markstrom, the Devils suddenly become quite thin.

Unfortunately for New Jersey, when they reach down into the crop of goaltenders in the pipeline, Nico Daws very well may not be available.

Daws did not participate in last Thursday’s practice with the Comets. Utica’s interim head coach Ryan Parent explained that Daws is day-to-day with an injury he suffered in a previous practice. He described it as a “freak incident,” although it’s a minor injury.

Devils fans know how this goes, though. Day-to-day turns into week-to-week, and sometimes month-to-month. Hopefully, that’s not the case for Daws. Further, the Devils hope Allen doesn’t miss much, if any time.

But the truth of the matter is a few minor injuries suddenly has New Jersey relying solely on Jacob Markstrom.

Otherwise, the Comets recalled Tyler Brennan in the wake of Daws’ injury to play behind Isaac Poulter. Those are the Devils’ option for back up should it come to that on Tuesday with Toronto in town.

We’ll get more clarity on Allen’s status soon. However, any bad news could leave the Devils in a tough spot with such a busy week ahead of them.

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