Sheldon Keefe wants more out of the New Jersey Devils' goaltenders in the midst of his team's three-game slide.
"Not good enough. I think that's fair to say," the head coach told reporters Friday. "But they know that. They're veteran guys, and they're working hard."
Goaltending was New Jersey's biggest weakness in 2023-24, so general manager Tom Fitzgerald made moves to address the issue in the summer, at long last acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames.
The Devils gave themselves one of the league's top tandems in the process, as backup Jake Allen performed well with a 6-6-1 record and .900 save percentage after joining New Jersey at the 2024 trade deadline.
Both netminders were solid to start the new season: Markstrom posted a .918 clip and three wins in his first five appearances and Allen owned a sparkling .974 save percentage in two outings, both victories.
However, the details have slipped for the Devils in their last three games. They've been outscored 19-13 and rank 31st in team save percentage (.833) at five-on-five over that span, according to Natural Stat Trick. Before the current skid, New Jersey was 12th (.930) in that category and the team now sits 23rd overall (.900).
Here's what went down between the Devils' pipes during each loss:
| Opponent | Goalie | SA | GA | xGA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitals (Oct. 19) | Markstrom | 37 | 6 | 3.07 | .838 |
| Lightning (Oct. 22) | Allen | 37 | 8 | 4.24 | .784 |
| Red Wings (Oct. 24) | Markstrom | 19 | 4 | 1.71 | .789 |
New Jersey put forth a particularly strong outing against Detroit, dictating 61.9% of the shot attempts and 71% of the expected goals at five-on-five while outshooting the Red Wings 40-20.
Keefe thinks the Devils could be doing more to give their goaltenders a hand.
"We gotta do a better job in front of them, consistently," he said. "I thought we did that last night. But if you look over the course of the season, there's things we can certainly do to help their cause for sure."
Keefe added: "This team really wants to improve. They want to build something here that's great and sustainable, but we're also showing that we're not there. We got to continue to grow as a team."
The Devils currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-4-1 record and 11 points, though they've played four more games than the Capitals, who are just one point behind. In terms of points percentage, Keefe's team ranks fourth with a .550 clip.
New Jersey will have a chance to right the ship Friday against the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. ET. Allen is expected to start.
