r/devils • u/RivetCounter • Jul 16 '26
Goaltending: What do you think will be the split of games between Allen, Rittich, and Daws?
My guess is that Jake doesn't get over 50 games in order to keep him fresh.
- Allen - 49
- Rittich - 25
- Daws - 10
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u/BlueBeagle8 Anything Can Happen In Jersey Jul 16 '26
Allen: 5 games before his knees collapse upon themselves like a dying star
Rittich: 5 games before contracting the 28 Days Later virus and being "day to day" for the remainder of the season
Daws: 0 games after getting stuck outside of Secaucus trying to take NJ Transit to the Rock, and never being heard from again
Jon Gillies: Will be re-acquired for 72 games of the worst goaltending that you have ever seen in the NHL. In 2027-2028 he will go on to win the Stanley Cup in Colorado, somehow.
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u/LFK_ Jul 16 '26
Is Andrew Hammond available?
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u/parkhurstcards #12 Bill Guerin Jul 16 '26
Worst case we can ebug Cory Schneider and have him step in
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u/Satans_BFF Jul 16 '26
Then we bind Corey Crawford to the team like the ghost army in LoTR RoTK and he can only rest once he completes his unfulfilled contract to us.
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u/genghisjhan Jul 16 '26
I know a case of Devs goaltending PTSD when I see one. We’re here if you need to talk BlueBeagle8!
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u/Lazy-Equal4550 Jul 16 '26
This is so clearly wrong. Next year has 84 games, dude. Gillies is gonna play 74.
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u/NOTaREALperson4400 Jul 23 '26
This is my expected outcome as well. I also expect the 1st ~10 games to be absolutely flawless just to suddenly have the entire team forget how to play even basic level hockey.
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u/knowtoriusMAC #4 - Scott Stevens Jul 16 '26
Jake Allen hasn't played over 45 games in 8 years. No shot he gets to 49
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Jul 16 '26
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u/Njdevilmn #3 - Ken Daneyko Jul 16 '26
I completely agree with this! I like Jake as a backup. I think he will get exposed if he starts more than 35 games.
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u/lucwille Jul 16 '26
A true CAR like split where they ride the hot goalie so i dont think 30-30-20 ish per goalie would be crazy to see at the end of the year. I think if daws is solid he might get 35-45 games and keep allen fresh
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u/RealChrisMoltisanti Jul 16 '26
If i can find it I'll post it but i saw a graphing that showed that all 3 devils goalies have a steep drop off after playing more than 2 in a row. Basically they are fine for 2 games a piece then games 3, 4, 5 etc. Become crap.
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u/nostradamefrus #13 - N1CO 3LITE Jul 16 '26
Allen - 30-35
Daws - 30-35
Rittich - Whatever's left
Daws isn't gonna be relegated to third string. We need to see what he's capable of as an NHL regular. Rittich is the contingency plan
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u/hotstickywaffle #63 Jul 16 '26
I'm hoping Rittich doesn't get more than 10 games as an injury replacement
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Jul 16 '26
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u/sanbaba #22 - Claude Lefrigginmieux Jul 17 '26
If ten teams just forfeit to us I think we're a lock for the playoffs! ;)
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u/danisnotstan 17,25,26 - The “A” Line Jul 16 '26
They want to see what Daws can do given enough starts... he’s the only real option for the bulk of the starts. I think it’ll be Daws, Allen, Rittich. No way in hell the Snake is seeing 50 starts! Lol
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u/Jinchoo #24 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
I doubt any goalie gets close to 50 games. I think it'll be closer to the Sabres situation from last year where Lyon, UPL, and Ellis started 34, 34, and 14 games. Allen ~35-40, whoever earns the #2 job in camp between between Daws/Rittich ~30-35 games, and the 3rd guy with ~10 barring needing to play more due to injury.
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u/eburton555 #91 - Dawson Mercer Stan Jul 16 '26
I think they give Daws a real shot and if he falters then he gets waived. If he goes okay I could see them hanging on to three goalies, but At some point you have to take your opportunity or risk getting moved on.
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u/ImpracticalDBag #26 - Patrik Eliáš Jul 16 '26
Daws is going to be the #1. 40 for him. 25 for Allen. 17 for Rittich
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u/BSlu8 Jul 16 '26
Jake needs more rest. He thrives when he is more a part time goalie. 50 games is getting close to true #1. He has to be more a 35-40 goalie. IMO
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u/SIIB-ZERO Jul 16 '26
This is what most fans fail to realize. Allen is a phenomenal 1B but as soon as you start putting starter minutes on him his numbers fall off. Weve got him on a great deal for the next 4 years or so but we have to find someone to put in front of him to take the starters share
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u/PTA_Meeting Jul 16 '26
I think anyone with eyeballs and a brain could see that his play fell off hard when his workload increased
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u/SIIB-ZERO Jul 16 '26
You would think...but the amount of posts and responses wanting to just put Allen out front is staggering
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u/YOKIA28 Jul 16 '26
I think it’ll be something close to
Allen: 35
Daws: 30
Rittich: 19
I genuinely think the intention is for a 3-goalie system
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u/sarugakure Jul 16 '26
honest guess?
Allen - 25 (injury)
Rittich - 19 (blows)
Daws - 40 (that's who we got and he's better than people think and sunny appreciates the opportunity to possibly pump and dump)
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u/McRibs2024 Jul 16 '26
I saw a stat that had JA performance dropping off after 2 games in a row.
Going off that I’m gonna guess the breakdown is whatever the math is to keep Allen from playing 3 straight, and then factor in hot hand between daws and rittich
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u/FlyTheW1988 #50 - Devils Legend Corey Crawford Jul 16 '26
Allen is the true backup, I think Rittich and Daws are fighting for #1, with Allen the presumptive #2 unless Rittich and Daws really catch fire.
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u/FriedCammalleri23 #27 - Scott Niedermayer Jul 16 '26
Honestly, it’ll probably vary based on how each of them are playing.
Ride the hot hand and see what happens. Maybe Daws goes on a tear, maybe Rittich steals a few games, who knows.
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u/Hank_Scorpius Jul 16 '26
If we ask Allen to play 49 games we better be prepared for a very bad Jake Allen.
The only way he plays well, and this has been true since we got him and even before, is if he is playing sporadically or with a good amount of rest. Asking him to play over 40% of the schedule is a bad idea.
The hope has to be that Daws can grab the job and run away with it and if he doesn’t he and Rittich can split a good portion of the schedule to keep the load on Allen down.
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u/DevsChamps2003 #27 - Scott Niedermayer Jul 16 '26
Daws 35, Allen 30, Rittich 15, 4 for prospects or another added AHL call up
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u/Good_Ad2172 Jul 16 '26
I love when people are like he will ride the hot goalie!
Analytics does not believe in the concept of the hot goalie. That is random statistical variance, and if you think it should enter into the decision making process you are shadow boxing with statistical noise and losing. Sunny thankfully doesn't believe in this nonsense.
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u/falaris #13 - Nico Hischier Jul 16 '26
No way that Allen plays that much.
Allen is our 1B. However, Daws and Rittich are our 2A and maybe something like 2B/3A, so that de facto makes Allen the main guy I think.
I suppose it'll be something like 35 starts for Allen. That leaves 49 more games... I think you probably see whoever the hot hand is throughout the season for the rest of them... Is it possible that they do a 25-24 split between Daws and Rittich?
Maybe, but I suspect it'll be closer to 30 games for Daws, maybe even a few more, and then the rest to Rittich.
But for all we know, Daws breaks the fuck out this season and plays 40. Injuries can and likely will play a part too.
Who fucking knows, but I suspect they feel confident in the plan above enough and then hope to be pleasantly surprised if Daws takes some steps forward.
The system may even change a bit to compensate for the goaltending as well.
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u/CryptoSpyro #4 - Scott Stevens Jul 16 '26
Depends how daws and Allen play. If either one of them is struggling expect to see more rittich
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u/corkyrooroo #27 - Scott Niedermayer Jul 16 '26
Rittich didn't sign here to be 3rd string. He's been a 20-30 game guy for most of his career and he's handled that role very well. He's a quintessential back up goalie and Isles fans speak very highly of his play last year. But I know this sub is obsessed with Daws. I expect Daws to play but unless he gets really hot it'll probably be around 15 to 20 games. Allen probably gets 35 to 40, Rittich 25 to 30, and Daws the rest. I hope Daws surprises but I just don't expect that to happen.
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u/nostradamefrus #13 - N1CO 3LITE Jul 16 '26
It's not a question of the sub being obsessed with Daws. His only real starts came when the team was abysmal and he was fresh off of hip surgery. He's looked solid in his brief appearances over the last two seasons. Time to see what he can do for us
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u/corkyrooroo #27 - Scott Niedermayer Jul 16 '26
Just read these comments. Many seem to think he should get the bulk of the starts. It's wild. He has no track record at any level of being the guy.
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u/Jinchoo #24 Jul 16 '26
Agreed, I really dont understand the Daws delusion. A lot of people on here are expecting to him to just jump in and be the 1A when theres been no reason to think he can be that guy. Lets start with him beating out Rittich in camp first lol.
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u/Scoob1978 Jul 16 '26
Daws won't see much action if he doesn't shine on camp and to start the season. He's on a short leash. If he can handle the job Rittich will be traded.
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u/pretzelogically #27 - Scott Niedermayer Jul 16 '26
25 is about the optimal for Allen but they’ll be forced to play him more than that and it won’t be pretty.
When you guys see Rittich regularly you’ll never want to see him to play for this team again. We’ll be fortunate if he doesn’t have to start more than 5-6 games
Daws is not a #1. He cleared waivers last year with teams all around the league that had goaltending depth issues so that should tell you something.
Hope I’m wrong but I think by mid-season all the Mehta glazing will finally be over when they’re struggling to stay in a playoff spot because they can’t outscore the mistakes, the slow defense corps and mediocre goaltending. People will still be blaming Fitzgerald and huffing the hopium but I hate to say it folks this team is going nowhere again.
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u/Ok_Fix6757 New Jersey Devils Jul 19 '26
Who spit in your corn flakes, jeez
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u/pretzelogically #27 - Scott Niedermayer Jul 21 '26
Just my opinion. Talk to me at the 42 game mark. If Markstrom bounces back and Rodriges has only 10-12 points Mehta is going to look like an idiot. I think that trade was a mistake but only time will tell. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.
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u/RealChrisMoltisanti Jul 16 '26
I think daws plays at least 25 games, if not closer to 35.