The New Jersey Devils injuries have continued to pile up and before Saturday's game it was known that Andy Greene, who led all Devils defenseman in points with 6 points, will miss a month with a broken hand. Then the worst of the worst happened as Brodeur left half-way through the game with what is being called a bruised elbow. The severity of the injury is not known, but watching the action live Brodeur threw his glove arm up to try and make a glove slave seeming to make a sharp jerking action. Brodeur was unable to move the arm and eventually was removed from the game for back-up goalie Kevin Weekes.
As for the game the Devils offense continued to click as they scored 6 goals against the Thrashers, including five second period goals for a 6-1 win. The Devils have now scored 21 goals in the past five games but have only posted a 2-2-1 mark in that span. One big reason for the offensive success over the past five games has been the defense who has accumulated 18 points (1G-17A) in the past five games, while in the first five games they combined for only 4 points (1G-3A).
Nicholas Bergfors started off the scoring, making him the fourth Devils rookie forward this season to score a point in their first game of the season. Bergfors sent a puck from the end boards that trickled through the Thrashers goalie to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The lead would remain until the second period where the Devils scored five goals by Elias, Gionta, Pandolfo and two by Parise. Parise's two goals ties a New Jersey Devils record of scoring a goal in six straight games and his nine goals overall have him tied for second in league behind Buffalo's Thomas Vanek, who the Devils will see tonight.
The Devils will face a tough Buffalo team without Brodeur between the pipes as he has been ruled out. Buffalo comes into tonight's contest leading the league with a 2.09 GAA, top goalie Ryan Miller who has a 1.82 GAA to lead the league as well. Their penalty kill ranks 3rd in the league killing off 9 out of every 10 chances which has helped them to a 7-2-2 record. The Devils will look to shut down Vakek who has scored 11 of the Sabres 34 goals this year.
Notes:
- Salmella and Clemmensen have been recalled from Lowell for tonight's game, while Matt Halischuk was sent back to Lowell after playing his first NHL last week against Toronto.
- An MRI and X-rays on Brodeur's elbow were done on Sunday, but we may not know the severity of the injury as the NHL has implemented new standards that do not make teams accountable to disclose all facts about a players injury.
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