Cory Schneider Shows Ability To Take Over Games In New Jersey Devils’ Win

By Nick Villano @nick_villano on October 31, 2014

Cory Schneider did not have the best start for the New Jersey Devils this season. He was coming off allowing five goals in two periods against the Pittsburgh Penguins, so no one would blame him for having an off-night.

He had a great night.

Schneider stopped 24-of-25 shots on the game and made some amazing saves all night long. Even more, he made three stops in the shootout to give the Devils their first home win of the season in amazing fashion.

He is the reason why the Devils won this game. There were multiple opportunities for the Winnipeg Jets to take this game, but Schneider stopped them all at the doorstep.

The fact that he could bounce back in such an awesome way after getting trounced is a testament to his tenacity. He is able to forget what happened in the last game and focus on this game in front of him.

There are still question marks about how many games Schneider can actually start. The team is expecting him to start 70-75, but he has never started more than 43 on the season. At least it is known that he won’t let his play slip despite one bad start.

His stats look bad right now, with a .906 save percentage and a 2.90 goals against average. That is compared to 1.97 GAA and .921 save percentage from last season. He needs to get back to the latter of those numbers if the Devils are going to end their playoff drought.

New Jersey knows they have their franchise in net. That is why they gave him the huge extension this offseason, and now he needs to show that he is worth the raise. If he can improve and play like he did against the Jets, then his season will continue to look up. If not, it will be a long season for the Devils.

Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports.  He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content.  You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.