With Mackenzie Blackwood suffering a lower-body injury while stretching across to make a stop against Edmonton on Thursday, the Devils needed a second goaltender. That second netminder will be Akira Schmid as the team announced today (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Utica. To make room for him on the roster, winger Andreas Johnsson has been sent down to the Comets.
The 22-year-old Schmid has played in four games so far this season with Utica, posting a 1.97 GAA along with a .918 SV%, numbers that are considerably better than the ones that Nico Daws has put up so far which helped Schmid earn the nod. He does have a bit of NHL experience having played in six games with the Devils last season but he struggled in those appearances to the tune of a 4.83 GAA and a save percentage of just .833. Vitek Vanecek will likely get the bulk of the workload until Blackwood is able to return and no timeline has been provided on that front yet.
As for Johnsson, the 27-year-old actually had the second-best year of his career last season with New Jersey, collecting 13 goals and 22 points in 71 games. However, with a $3.4MM AAV and a tenuous hold on a roster spot, the Devils correctly predicted that he’d pass through waivers unclaimed last month, allowing him to be shuffled back and forth as roster needs warrant. He hasn’t played with the Devils this season and has six points in four games with the Comets so far.