The New Jersey Devils will have to take on the New York Islanders without their captain this afternoon.
The Devils will be without defenseman Bryce Salvador as he’s dealing with a bruised collarbone injury suffered on Thursday after being struck by a Jack Johnson slap shot. As Devils coach Peter DeBoer shares with Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice, there’s a good reason to not push him to play.
“When you’ve got eight defensemen, if anyone’s less than 100 percent it doesn’t make sense to risk it especially with three games in four nights,” DeBoer said.
Anton Volchenkov will take Salvador’s spot in the lineup. He was a healthy scratch against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.