'He Was Giving Us A Chance All Night': Devils Goaltender Continues To Look For First Win Since November

New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen got his puck touches early on Wednesday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

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Only 60 seconds after Nico Hischier won the opening face-off against Phillip Danault, Allen had to stop an Alex Laferriere wrist shot.

Over the next 20 minutes, the veteran netminder turned away eight shots as his team fired 14 on Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper in an attempt to secure an early lead.

Despite their efforts, the Devils and Kings skated into the first intermission deadlocked at zero.

It was not until six minutes into the second period when Allen saw the red light go off behind him.

Kings forward Andre Lee had a step on Devils defenseman Brett Pesce and beat Allen for his first career NHL goal. It was the first of four shots that the Devils goaltender faced in the middle frame.

With the Devils down by one goal, the 34-year-old had to be sharp at the start of the third period as the Kings dominated, firing six shots on Allen in less than three minutes.

It was not until 11 minutes into the final frame that Allen let a second goal past him. Quinton Byfield scored his ninth goal of the season over Allen's glove from the left circle.

By the final frame, the Devils had suffered their third consecutive loss and sixth shutout, falling 3-0. It was Allen's fifth straight loss.

After the game, defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic spoke to reporters and praised his goaltender's effort.

"He was a rock. He was giving us a chance all night, on a night where I felt like we needed it," Kovacevic said. "We gave up too many odd-man looks, too many clean looks, and Jake was awesome for us. It is dissapointing, when Jake comes in like that we want to get him a win, at least some run support, so yeah, it sucks."

"He gave us a chance to win," head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Allen. "Kept the game tight. I did not think there was much going on for either team, but we made a couple of mistakes where they got in there, got in alone, and made good on it."

Through 13 starts, Allen's record is 5-7-1 with two shutouts. In those seven losses, there were massive chunks of solid goaltending, where he made big-time saves but ultimately could not secure the two points.

With 12 seasons of NHL experience, Allen knows how to handle the rough stretches that come with each season. When addressing the media after losses, he is even-keeled and takes responsibility when necessary.

Eventually a win will come, and it will feel sweet as it will be the first time since Nov. 23, 2024 that a game will end with Allen receiving goalie hugs and head taps from his teammates.

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