Devils prospect Akira Schmid is proving himself as a full-time NHL talent this season.
Could his hot play spark a goalie controversy for coach Lindy Ruff when Mackenzie Blackwood returns from his MCL injury? In a pre-game press conference on Saturday, Ruff said he’ll “continue to evaluate” this.
“Obviously he’s played well,” Ruff said. “You just continue to evaluate. Your eyes get bigger and bigger when he continues to play the way he has. He’s making a statement that he can win NHL games.”
When Blackwood collapsed to the ice in pain on Nov. 3, Schmid was yanked from AHL Utica and instantly showed growth from last year. He recorded five overtime saves – seven saves overall – against the Senators on Nov. 8, then surrendered just four total goals in three November games.
While Ruff acknowledges Schmid’s impressive play, he said it may stem from lack of pressure. Vitek Vanecek has taken most game reps – and has been one of the top goalies in the NHL – and New Jersey’s defense has limited opponents to 25.19 shots per game. Ruff wonders if Schmid would continue rolling if promoted to a full-time roster.
“He’s young and actually not (under) a lot of pressure because he’s coming into relief,” Ruff said. “I think sometimes when you become the guy or then all of the sudden you have to be this guy, there’s a little bit more pressure on him. But we have really liked the way he’s played – and he’s making a statement that he can be a consistent NHL goaltender.”
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Entering Saturday, Schmid ranks 14th in the NHL with 4.7 goals saved above expected. This metric takes a goalie’s expected goals against – which measures likely goals based on quality shots and distance from net – and subtracts it from their actual goals against number. Through four games, Schmid has a save percentage of .953% and a 1.24 goals against average. It’s a small sample size, but in six games last season, Schmid had a -9.3 GSAx rating and .833 SV% in four losses.
Next Tuesday marks three weeks since Blackwood’s original injury, which Ruff said would take 3-6 weeks of recovery time. Blackwood, along with injured forward Ondrej Palat, are “progressing” and even saw some ice time last week.
“Both are progressing,” said Ruff. I think they’re both doing well, they’re both seeing the ice to a limited extent. So (they’re) improving.”
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Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ryannovo62.
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