This past weekend while the Devils lost back-to-back games and Zach Parise was the only player who could put the puck in the net, my family and good friend were visiting Canada and the Hockey Hall of Fame. In a post later this week I will have some pictures and go over what a great trip it is and why all hockey fans should make it a point to get there.
Besides the two losses, where both goalies Weekes and Clemmensen, played well enough to keep the Devils in the game, the injuries just kept on coming. The newest additions are Paul Martin who was put on IR today and Gionta and Salvador had to miss Sunday's game against Edmonton after leaving the previous game against Detroit with injuries. Gionta and Salvador should return soon than later to the line-up and I would expect them both to be in the line-up against the Rangers tomorrow night.
Theses injuries add onto Rolston, Holik, Greene and Leblond who are all still out and may not be back for another few weeks. And of course the injury to Brodeur, who underwent successful surgery on his elbow tendon and is expected to miss three to four months.
The injuries have not been limited to the NHL club. Matt Hallischuk, the Devils top prospect, will be out four to six weeks after successful arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Hallischuk had 5G-3A in 8 games at Lowell this season and had an assist in his NHL debut.
In all my years as a Devils fan, I have never seen so many injuries at one time and especially to so many key players. Despite the injuries and a total of seven rookies making their debuts this season (Hallischuk, Vrana, Bergfors, Leblond, Davis, Salmella, Leach) the Devils remain above .500 and in second place in the division.
Some players have shown they have the ability to step-up and other have showed they are not ready, here is our list of our uppers and downers:
Salmella, Parise, Oduya, Weekes, Clemmensen - UPPERS
Vrana, Bergfors, Langenbrunner, Clarkson, Rupp, Elias - DOWNERS
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