Well, the news no one wanted to hear on Wednesday presented itself. The New Jersey Devils have recalled a goaltender. That spells bad news for one of the two Devils netminders.
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The Devils have brought Nico Daws up from the American Hockey League. It’s a good thing he wasn’t swept up on waivers a few weeks ago.
Jacob Markstrom is the goaltender in question, sustaining an injury on Monday. Head coach Sheldon Keefe explained after practice on Wednesday that the Swedish goaltender will be out, “a couple of weeks,” with a lower-body injury.
In a corresponding move, Zack MacEwen lands on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He was injured in the final moments of New Jersey’s tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning amid a strong Devils debut.
However, Keefe explained he will miss an “extended period” of time.
So, why is Daws in New Jersey?
On Monday, the Devils faced the Columbus Blue Jackets, and wouldn’t you know it, both goaltenders dealt with respective injuries.
Jake Allen played a superb 40 minutes, before he was yanked in the second intermission due to cramping. That’s worrisome, but not as much as Markstrom.
Markstrom relieved Allen of his duties in the third period, and captured the win making 8/9 saves. But, not before he seemingly tweaked something in the closing moments, a scramble in front of his net at the Blue Jackets desperately tried to tie the game in the final seconds.
Markstrom was slow to get up on his own, but finished the remaining 20 seconds on the clock. He then hurried off the ice, and appeared to be laboring in the lower-body region.
Thus, Daws returns to New Jersey after some preseason work in the AHL, and one regular game with the Utica Comets.
In fact, he lost that game, but made 26 saves on 27 shots against the Cleveland Monsters, and now sports a 1.03 goals against average and .963 save percentage. He just lacked goal support.
Daws will be Allen’s backup for at least the next few weeks.
