I asked Devils coach John Hynes in his postgame news conference following Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Vegas if he had any idea as to who would start in net for Tuesday’s home tilt versus Montreal.
“I do,” Hynes said, “but I’m not going to say.”
Maybe Hynes had a valid reason for keeping it secret, but the eventual answer should be obvious.
With the Devils in a fight for their postseason lives, having lost three straight in regulation, Hynes must go back to Keith Kinkaid.
Cory Schneider, the Devils’ 31-year-old workhouse for the past four seasons, lost his ninth consecutive start Sunday -- and seventh in regulation -- dating back to Dec. 27.
The skid was interrupted by a groin injury that sidelined Schneider for more than a month. Sunday was Schneider’s second game since he came off the injured list.
Kinkaid, meanwhile, is clearly the hotter goalie. He is 10-6-1 in the same span.
“I think (Kinkaid) has learned a lot by having to take the brunt of the load when Cory got hurt,” Hynes said. “That’s why we re-signed him (as an unrestricted free agent last summer). Keith’s game has given us a chance -- he’s given us points.”
It would be unfair to pin the Vegas loss, or even the 3-2 defeat in Florida on Thursday, solely on Schneider. The defense in front of him has a tendency to play loose for extended periods, and the offense, outside of the superlative Taylor Hall, has been stymied by opponents’ tighter structures in these games of greater importance.
Against the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, Schneider made some outstanding saves, including a couple to deny 35-goal scorer William Karlsson. He had no chance to stop David Perron’s second-period rebound, and he was screened when Deryk Engelland’s blast from just above the right circle beat him later in the frame.
“I looked on one side and then the screen sort of moved across me,” Schneider said of Engelland’s goal. “By the time I got around to the short side, it was kind of on top of me and in the net already. Ideally, you’d like to look short side all the way, but sometimes when the screen moves like that, it’s tough to choose a side, and unfortunately I was just a split second late getting around on it.”
The Golden Knights’ third goal, though, was a backbreaker. Eight seconds into a Vegas power play, Perron wristed one from the right circle that appeared catchable. Instead, the puck somehow trickled down to between Schneider’s pads and was poked in by Tomas Tatar.
Hall, who extended his points streak to 18 consecutive games (and 25 straight “appearances," since the NHL doesn’t count the three games he missed due to a thumb injury) with an earlier assist, got one back 12 seconds later, but that only made the one bad goal yielded by Schneider stand out further.
“I thought (the puck) was in my pads there, and I was just trying to get down on it,” Schneider said. “(Tatar) just kind of speared me in the pads and knocked it through. They called it a good goal, and we didn’t challenge. You just have to live with it, and for me, I just have to be better at securing the puck if it’s in my pads.”
Schneider’s inability to control a rebound also cost the Devils dearly in Florida, who has since snuck into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card slot and is just four points behind New Jersey with three games in hand.
The Panthers’ opening goal was the result of a seemingly harmless shot at a hard angle by Alexsander Barkov. Schneider stopped it with his stick but didn’t cover it. With the puck in the blue paint, Panthers center Nick Bjugstad drove to the net alongside Devils counterpart Nico Hischier. It was Hischier’s skate that knocked Schneider and the puck into the net.
Florida’s go-ahead goal was worse -- a backhand from behind the net by Maxim Mamin that banked in off Schneider’s back.
Contrast that with the two goals Carolina scored (before an empty-netter) on Kinkaid in the Devils’ 3-1 loss Friday. Both were ricochets off legs in front, one of which belonged to Devils defenseman Damon Severson. Bad puck luck.
Yet Hynes somehow opined that Schneider “looked good” in Florida, while Kinkaid “was just OK” in a game the Devils lost 2-1 to Columbus on Feb. 20, because Kinkaid’s positioning was slightly off on Scott Harrington’s game-winner from the high slot off a Blue Jackets rush.
Unlike Hynes, I’ve never been a big believer in Schneider’s ability to develop into anything more than a slightly above-average goalie. He has not fared well in his limited big-game exposures and he ranks 42nd in career shootout save percentage among 58 goalies with at least 50 saves. I was vilified for suggesting that the Devils might want to investigate trading him two seasons ago when his value was at its peak.
At the time, Kinkaid did not use a similar injury opportunity to prove that he was ready for such a promotion, so I could see why the Devils held onto Schneider, an NHL All-Star and subsequent Team USA World Cup member.
I believe Kinkaid, 28, is ready now.
The stats suggest that Schneider has been superior this season, but this is about winning games in a playoff run. Schneider is sporting a 3.67 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage in his last nine games, at a time when Hynes has said the team hasn't given "our goaltenders better run support.” Kinkaid’s numbers in the same period are 2.47 and .910.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Kinkaid’s dominance in clutch situations. He has surrendered only 17 third-period goals in 27 appearances (18 of which have been road games) and none in eight overtime periods. He boasts a .931 save percentage after the second period, .948 in 17 games since Jan. 1.
Devils general manager Ray Shero made a statement at the trade deadline when he acquired veteran wingers Michael Grabner and Patrick Maroon in a bold bid to halt the club’s five-season playoff drought. The Devils need to ride Kinkaid for a bit to stay on mission.