New Jersey’s Adam Larsson has been back from his injury for a while now. Larsson had missed a few weeks with a bruised lower back in early February, but came back before the end of the month to try and help the Devils keep winning.
As he tells Rich Chere of The Star-Ledger, he may have come back too soon and done more harm for himself and the Devils than good.
“My game’s been up and down, I think,” Larsson told The Star-Ledger today. “The last few games it’s been pretty good, but it was pretty tough for me. I wasn’t in the best shape when I came back. I probably came back too quick after my injury.”
In the eight games Larsson has played since returning, he has just one assist and a plus-minus rating of plus-2. The stats aren’t impressive and Larsson hasn’t done much to make himself stand out. Then again, he’s in just his first NHL season and is all of 19-years-old. Things could be worse, but given the kind of minutes he’s playing, not getting noticed isn’t exactly a bad thing.
Still, considering how he feels he came back too soon and the way Travis Zajac rushed back to action after tearing his Achilles tendon before being out of action with soreness, you understand how high the pressure is to get back to action.