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Don’t call Patrik Elias a ‘healthy scratch’

Florida Panthers v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 06: Patrik Elias #26 of the New Jersey Devils waits for a faceoff in an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center on December 6, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

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Patrik Elias doesn’t like the connotation of the phrase “healthy scratch.”

True, the 39-year-old Devils forward is not technically injured.

Also true, he didn’t play Sunday in Boston.

But...

“A healthy scratch would be for the reason (coach John Hynes) might not be happy with the way I’m playing or something,” Elias told NJ Advance Media.

“At my age, with some of the issues I’ve been having, it’s fine to give me a night off. Especially when we played five games in eight nights.”

Hynes offered a better word for it -- “maintenance.”

Elias -- who considers himself “lucky to still be playing” at his age -- logged a mere 10:31 of ice time in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Anaheim. He has just one goal and three assists in 13 games, after missing the first 20 games with a knee injury.

In conclusion, getting old isn’t very fun.