Cory Schneider made his 15th start of the season Monday. It was also the New Jersey Devils' 15th game of the season. That puts Schneider on pace for (carry the one, subtract the exponent, first outer, inner last) 82 starts this season.
Schneider clearly won't start every game for the Devils this season (right?), but history shows this is no way to manage a goaltender's workload, and Schneider's numbers are reflective of that.
The 28-year-old amassed a .928 save percentage from 2009-10 to 2013-14, the second-best mark among goaltenders to appear in 100 games. Through 15 games with hardly a breather this season, Schneider is 6-6-2 with a 3.00/.901 split and has been yanked four times. He has allowed a lot of uncharacteristically bad goals—two have been scored as a result of bounces off the back boards—which is usually a sign of mental fatigue.
Those numbers also have something to do with the Devils playing disastrous defense in front of Schneider and a penalty-killing unit that couldn't kill a zombie with a loaded shotgun from point-blank range, but Schneider looks as unfocused as ever.
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Article written by Dave Lozo
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