Sad report: A crucial player for the new jersey devils is currently suspended while facing a difficult match

Sad report: A crucial player for the new jersey devils is currently suspended while facing a difficult match

On Sunday, December 19, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey, defenseman Brendan Smith (2) of the New Jersey Devils shares a joke with referee Gord Dwyer (19) during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL playoffs between the Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes.

UPDATE: According to the Department of Player Safety, Smith received a two-game suspension for his slash on Konecny.

Brendan Smith, a defenseman for the Devils, will appear before the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Friday after he cut forward Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period of the Devils’ 4-3 victory on Thursday.

This is undoubtedly a good update. Although it is disappointing that he will be absent, the fact that he managed to avert the worst-case situation indicates that he will most likely return before the end of the month. It’s clear that this is conjecture, but it’s difficult to characterize a player missing more than a month from the starting lineup as anything other than the worst case.

Hughes appeared to have suffered only a minor injury despite hitting the boards hard. If that’s how he was knocked out, that would have been devastating. It felt less like an issue and more like losing footing.

The Devils must decide who will take over for Hughes when he is not available. Nico Hischier is already out of the lineup, costing them 179 offensive points from the previous campaign. Other than the fact that Hischier’s injury is affecting his upper body, we still don’t know when it will heal or even how serious it is. He will be missing at least two more games because he is not going on this trip.