jake allen

The Devils announced Friday morning that goaltender Jacob Markstrom underwent imaging on Thursday that showed an MCL sprain suffered Wednesday night against Boston that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks.

It’s obviously a blow for the Devils. Markstrom has played his best hockey of late. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Month for December after going 8-1-1 with a 1.30 goals-against average and .937 save percentage and two back-to-back shutouts for 139:35 minutes of shutout hockey. And he carried the load lately, starting seven of the past eight games for New Jersey, including six straight starts.

“It is what it is. You have to take these things as they come. It’s a reality of the league,” Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Pretty much every team deals with it in some form or another.

“I’ve talked about this from the start of the season, we want to be the type of team that no matter what happens we can pick each other up and the structure can take care of itself, and the collective group can be better to help out.”

With Jacob Markstrom out 4-6 weeks, the Devils will turn to Jake Allen and his experience

That was exactly what the team did Wednesday against Boston. Markstrom, 34, left the game early in the second period after Boston’s Justin Brazeau crashed into him in the net. Jake Allen entered the game and stopped all 16 shots against to lead the Devils to a 5-1 victory.

“Jake showed the other night when he comes in cold, he can do the job for us,” Keefe said. “He’s played some good hockey. He’s won a lot of games in the league. He has a tremendous amount of experience. He’ll be ready and our team will be ready to support him.”

So, the Devils will turn to Allen in goal for the next couple of weeks at least. Allen, 34, is a 12-year NHL veteran that has seen and done it all. From being a starter to backup, from winning a Stanley Cup championship to playing on teams that have had lottery picks.

Allen has played in 444 games in his career, winning 201 of them. He knows his role well and is always ready when called upon.

“Status quo for me. Nothing changes,” he said. “We wish ‘Marky’ a speedy recovery. He was in good spirits today. But it’s a good opportunity for myself to get back in there. I haven’t played a ton recently but get back in there and get into a groove again, it’s exciting.

“I’ve held every position in this league, so this is nothing new for me, but it’s a fun opportunity.”

jake allen on bench

Markstrom will miss the remaining seven games for the Devils from now until the start of February’s 4 Nations Face-Off. His availability for the tournament is also in jeopardy. Even if Markstrom is ready at the four-week mark, that would still be toward the end of the break.

“You never rule anything out with these types of things. Sometimes it heals quicker than people think. Sometimes it takes longer than you think,” Keefe said. “I don’t think there are any guarantees either way. The expectation now is that he won’t be on the ice between now and 4 Nations beginning, and then he’ll take it from there.”

In the meantime, the Devils have recalled goalie Isaac Poulter from Utica of the American Hockey League. The club plans on having Poulter backup Allen on the team’s two-game road trip to Montreal and Philadelphia. Then the Devils are planning on recalling goalie Nico Daws from Utica after the trip and will then figure out how to handle the remaining five games heading into the break.

“I think you’ll see Daws come up. We want to be patient and allow him some time,” Keefe said. “He’ll play for Utica this weekend and then we’ll look to bring him up here. … You’ll see Daws here and he’ll get some opportunity.”

The Devils will navigate the next two-plus weeks with a ‘next-man up’ mentality. And it starts with Allen. Though he hasn’t played a lot lately – just two starts in 24 days – due to Markstrom’s recent successes, Allen is a true professional and has kept himself ready for any circumstance.

That readiness was evident when he entered the game cold and then helped the Devils earn a win against Boston.

“Being able to play well in the last two-thirds of that game gives you a big confidence boost here,” Allen said. “Coming into a team (Montreal) this weekend that’s been one of the hottest teams in the league. We’re going to have our hands full Saturday night in that rink. It’ll be a challenge for us.”