Devils Can't Avoid 3rd Period Collapse in Loss to Flames
The New Jersey Devils and Jacob Markström fell apart in the 3rd period of a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames.
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It was pretty smooth sailing for the New Jersey Devils through two periods against the Calgary Flames yesterday night. But for whatever reason, those third periods have become a problem over the last week. Yesterday, they couldn't escape in what was arguably their worst loss of the season.
Make no mistake. The Devils did not play well across the final 20 minutes, but Jacob Markström struggled mightily, allowing a couple of goals that probably should have been saved.
Markström Is Unplayable Right Now
We'll start this article with Markström because I would probably put more of that loss on him than the Devils' poor play (we'll get to that, too).
There's no sugarcoating it. Markström has not played well since returning from his MCL sprain a couple of weeks ago. He has an .832 save percentage since returning after giving up four goals on 27 shots last night.
Markström absolutely has to stop the first goal the Flames scored in the third period. It was a relatively routine save, but it went through him and trickled past the goal line and into the back of the net. If he stops that, maybe the Flames wouldn't have gained any momentum.
After that, I don't care which goal he should have saved. Just make a save on one of them. Jake Allen faced much tougher work in the third periods of the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets games, but he allowed one goal in each period.
Allen stole two points in each of those games, but Markström is costing the Devils points in the standings. He gave up nearly 3.5 goals above expected in the loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend and should have stopped a couple more goals last night.
Right now, there's no question about it. Allen is the Devils' No. 1 netminder until further notice. The only goalies who have saved more goals above expected than Allen this season are Connor Hellebuyck and Logan Thompson. Meanwhile, Markström has given up nearly 10 goals above expected since returning from injury.
Fortunately for the Devils, the teams chasing them for a playoff spot are having the ultimate mid-off. Their playoff spot is not in danger, but it will be if they play Markström over Allen.
I even question if Markström should be in the lineup at all. After the game, Sheldon Keefe was asked if he'd seen any progress from Markström since returning from injury. His response was, "He's not there yet."
If so, why is he playing? Nico Daws was tremendous in the three starts he made for the Devils. He sure looks like a better option than Markström, especially if he's still not healthy, which is perfectly reasonable to think, given how he's played.
Devils' 3rd-Period Play Is a Concern
OK, so about those third periods. The Devils are not doing their goalies any favors in the final 20 minutes of games. Allen bailed them out against the Oilers and Blue Jackets, but their third periods were going to bite them eventually, and it finally did last night.
I can't say for sure that they would've beaten the Flames had Allen started, but that's probably a safe assumption to make. Still, they can't turtle like this in the third period and expect to get two points every time, even when Allen starts.
Keefe said he's surprised by the recent third-period woes because it hasn't been a problem for most of the season. He's mostly right about that, but the Devils do not play as aggressively in the third period as they do across the first 40 minutes of games:
Even though third periods had not been a problem until lately, the Devils are playing differently under Keefe than they were under Lindy Ruff. Perhaps they're trying to play even more conservatively defending leads with Jack Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton done for the regular season, but I don't think that's the case.
Regardless, the Devils have played well across the first two periods of games without those three players. That was true of the Oilers, Blue Jackets and Flames games. They were either playing each team evenly or outplaying them altogether.
They don't need to play more conservatively to defend leads in the third periods without Hughes, Hamilton and Siegenthaler. They've shown they can tilt the ice without them for two periods and need to keep that same mentality in the third.
Quick Hits
I've seen enough of the Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt combo. It's a small sample (37 minutes), but they have an expected goals share (xG%) of 34.79 percent as linemates this season. I'm not sure why Keefe broke up the Bratt and Cody Glass combo that's worked so well, but he needs to return to it tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators. Erik Haula or Daniel Sprong can round out that combo, but either works, as long as Mercer and Bratt aren't linemates anymore because it's generally been a disaster this season.
Kurtis MacDermid should not be in the lineup during meaningful games. Yes, Markström should have stopped the Flames' second goal of the night, but MacDermid was floating in the middle of the defensive zone and didn't look like he had any idea where to be. He played just 3:52, so the Devils are essentially playing with 11 forwards when he's in the lineup. And since Šimon Nemec is barely playing, the Devils are basically playing with five defensemen. That's not a great position to be in.
Keefe said that Curtis Lazar and Ondřej Palát went for some imaging yesterday afternoon and that they'll hopefully have more clarity on their injuries today. The Devils' depth is already hurting due to injuries, but this could be an opportunity for Nolan Foote and/or Brian Halonen to make cases to play. At the very least, it'd take MacDermid out of the lineup.
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