Adam Larsson will emerge from the press box for the first time tonight when the Devils host the Rangers at Prudential.
“Really, it was a tough decision not to play him coming out of training camp,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer said, per NorthJersey.com. “We just had some great camps by a lot of young defensemen. Then, when we got off to the start we got off to, we won three in a row, it’s tough to make lineup changes.
“But, some things have changed and he’s going to get an opportunity tonight and he’s got to make the most of it.”
Larsson, 21, has failed to live up to the promise that saw him go fourth overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, and has been the Devils’ seventh defemsan almost exclusively this season. He’ll draw into the lineup for Eric Gelinas tonight, though, as Gelinas struggled in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Sharks, going minus-1 in just over 16 minutes of ice time.
In other New Jersey lineup moves, Tuomo Ruutu will take a seat in the press box and be replaced by Damien Brunner.