The New Jersey Devils lost to the Dallas Stars on Friday, and now await word on the status of goalie Cory Schneider after he left the game with an injury.
Schneider was hurt early in the third period as he slid to his right to make what was a great pad save on Jason Spezza. He was in immediate pain and slowly made his way off the ice with the help of a trainer.
Keith Kinkaid replaced Schneider for the remainder of the game.
The Devils, already five points back of Pittsburgh for the final Wild Card spot in the East, lost by a final score of 4-2.
But any possible loss of Schneider would certainly be an even greater hit to their playoff hopes.
Hynes says no update on Schneider and they'll have him checked out when they get back to NJ
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) March 5, 2016
Hynes said too soon to say if they'll need to call up a goalie for Sunday
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) March 5, 2016
The Devils are already without one of their top offensive players in forward Mike Cammalleri -- potentially for the remainder of the season with a hand injury.
When it comes to scoring, the Devils are last in the entire NHL in goals-for per game (2.20).
They rely heavily on the play of Schneider in net. He began Friday tied with Martin Jones for most games played and starts (54) among goalies this season. He has also faced the fourth most shots (1,507), while posting a .924 save percentage.