Devils' 6-3 Loss to Jets: Barely Treading Water

The New Jersey Devils' goaltending concerns only grew in their 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, as Akira Schmid had another tough outing

The New Jersey Devils are barely treading water without Jack Hughes. Fortunately, his return may be nearing. But it was another rough outing compounded by another poor goaltending performance and shoddy defense in a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Here are three takeaways. 

Devils Need a Goalie

It's becoming quite clear the Devils need to find a goalie from outside the organization. Vitek Vanecek has not played well, and Akira Schmid has not fared much better. He's had a few quality outings in relief, but he had another rough start last night. 

Schmid's first period went quite well, and you could even argue the first half of the game went well. But things began to unravel in the second half of the second period when the Jets scored three goals. 

Schmid had no chance on Nikolaj Ehlers' goal, which saw Dougie Hamilton fail to tie up Ehlers behind the net and then lose him in coverage in the blue paint, where Ehlers had a wide-open net. 

That goal aside, someone has to make a save. Schmid gave up five goals on 2.67 expected goals. Not many teams will win games with goaltending like that from their netminders. 

The Devils' defense needs to be better, too. But their goalies need to make saves when their team needs it. Defensive breakdowns like Hamilton's are impossible for goalies to stop. But not every breakdown should end up in the back of the net. 

At this point, general manager Tom Fitzgerald needs to scour the goalie market for someone. The Montreal Canadiens are reportedly looking to move one of their three netminders, so they could be an option.

Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines on Nov. 11 that the Canadiens are working on re-signing Sam Montembault. Could that make Jake Allen available? I want to go more in-depth on him in a standalone post, but he'd be a good fit for the Devils.