Last Night Proved that Goaltending is Still a Problem for the New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 14 : Cody Glass #12, Jacob Markstrom #25 and Jake Allen #34 of the New Jersey Devils celebrate on the ice after winning the NHL regular season game against the Seattle Kraken at the Prudential Center on January 14, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Maclean/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images Last night, the New Jersey Devils stormed into Madison Square Garden and walked out with a 6-3 victory over Our Hated Rivals. It’s the second win for the Devils this season in two tries (both by the same score as well) with one more meeting between the teams set for the end of the month.

With the way this season has gone, the Rangers are a team the Devils should be beating. The Rangers are a team the Devils should be dominating the run of play with as they did. And yet after watching last night, I’m still feeling unsatisfied.

Maybe he’s not completely to blame for all three goals, but Jacob Markstrom turned in another performance that screamed “I’m not a starting goaltender anymore! ” When two goals get by you on the first three shots that the Rangers muster (across two separate periods no less) then maybe you’re not the guy that a team with playoff aspirations needs. His last five starts including last night have seen him allow three or more goals in all five games and a save percentage of .

900 or lower in each of the five as well. MoneyPuck has him as the 87th best goalie in the NHL out of 93 in terms of goals saved above expected. On the season, Markstrom is sporting a 3.