New Jersey Devils
Nico Hischier has resumed skating and Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said the forward might be ready to play following the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament that begins Wedneday and runs through Feb. 20.
The Devils captain is week to week because of an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Thursday retroactive to Jan. 25.
“He’s back on the ice,” Keefe said. “He’s not going to be available at this point this week but the way it’s trending, it would be a surprise if he’s not available when we return from the break.”
Hischier took a cross-check up high late in the second period of a 4-3 overtime win at the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 25 and did not play the remaining 2:10 of the period. He returned to the bench to begin the third and was on the ice for a 36-second shift before returning to the locker room.
He leads the Devils with 24 goals in 51 games and is second among forwards with an average ice time of 20:21.
“Nico is a guy we lean on for so much, whether it’s power play, penalty-kill, 4-on-4, end of the game, start of the game, who to go to for a voice … it’s Nico,” New Jersey forward Nathan Bastian said. “When he’s gone you need a collection of guys to step up, probably everyone, so hopefully we can come together and show that we can miss our top guys and still be the team we are.”
Jonas Siegenthaler is still being evaluated. He left a 3-2 shootout win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday after falling along the boards at 8:45 of the first period and did not return.
“He’s going to see another specialist just to get a better idea of exactly where we’re at in the timeline, but clearly not going to be available here this week,” Keefe said. “So we bring (Simon) Nemec back, and welcome him in, and give him an opportunity.”
Nemec was recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League and joined the Devils for the morning skate. The 20-year-old defenseman and No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 69 NHL games, including 60 games last season.
“We need a guy and we’re very fortunate to have somebody of his talent available to us. In our mind, in lots of ways he’s always been the seventh defenseman here,” Keefe said. “He just so happens that he’s been in Utica and benefiting from playing a lot and the extra practice time, and all the things that come outside of the NHL, so I feel like he’s benefited from that. We’ve been digging in more with him coming back yesterday, so we feel like he’s ready for this opportunity.”
The Devils are also without goalie Jacob Markstrom, who was injured in a 5-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 22. He will be out 4-6 weeks because of a sprained MCL in his knee and won’t play for Team Sweden at 4 Nations. Samuel Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers was named an injury replacement. — Mike G. Morreale
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