Devils acquire goaltender Jake Allen from Canadiens

The Devils have acquired goalie Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a conditional third-round pick, in an attempt to shore up a position that has underperformed this season.

The Canadiens are retaining 50 percent of Allen’s $3.85 million cap hit. The 33-year-old’s contract runs through next season.

New Jersey, between a combination of Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid, has had a rough time in goal this season regardless of who’s been back there. The position’s depth also got thinner recently after Vanecek, who started 29 games this season (17-9-3), was placed on IR on Feb. 20.

Allen, an 11-year veteran, will provide the Devils with some much-needed experience. In 416 games (395 starts) with the Canadiens and St. Louis Blues, Allen has a 2.75 GAA and a .908 save percentage.

However, in 21 starts this season Allen has gone 6-12-3 with a 3.65 GAA and a .892 save percentage for a Montreal team that is second to last in the Atlantic Division.

New Jersey’s current starter, Daws, has played in 19 games (all starts) this season and is 9-10 with a 3.32 GAA and a .890 save percentage. His backup, Schmid, has seen action in 19 games (15 starts) this season and is 5-9-1 with a 3.15 GAA and a .895 save percentage.

The Devils enter Friday with a 31-28-4 record, good for sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ve allowed 220 goals this season, the fifth-most in the NHL.