Going through a NHL season is never easy, but the Devils are going to have life made especially rough tonight against Winnipeg. They’ll be going to battle without star winger Ilya Kovalchuk as well as top defenseman Andy Greene thanks to separate injuries.
Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice says that Kovalchuk is sitting it out with a pulled muscle in his leg that he doesn’t want to make worse while Greene is missing his second straight game with a lower body injury. To make things more interesting, the Devils should all tie one hand behind their backs to top it all off.
The Devils had enough issues on Thursday night keeping up with the Maple Leafs and figuring out a way to keep the Jets held down and to outscore them should be tricky enough. The main thing we’ll be eyeballing is how Zach Parise handles being without Kovalchuk. The two haven’t flourished so far this year playing together and Parise going without him tonight will make him “the man” on offense. Does he break out or do the struggles continue?