The New Jersey Devils had a very hard-fought win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. They faced another superstar goalie performance, with 44 shots on Jakub Dobes. He stopped all but three in regulation, and Jack Hughes finally got a shot off on him in overtime, and it went in the net. It was a huge win for the Devils, but many fans came out of the game more worried than happy.
Nico Hischier did not take the ice in overtime. He left the game in the third period after taking a rough cross check from Nick Suzuki. It looked like Hischier just made an errant pass that led to a goal against the other way, but it was clear the check should have been called a penalty. Hischier was clearly in pain for the rest of the game, he stopped taking faceoffs for the most part after this, and after one shift in the third, he left.
This is obviously a concern, as Hischier has been at times the Devils' best player this season. The team's captain leads in goals with 24. He scored that 24th goal earlier in this game, starting the team off with the lead in the first period. It was his fifth goal in the last six games. Hischier has been on fire lately, so an injury is the last thing the Devils need.
However, luckily for the Devils, Head Coach Sheldon Keefe sounds positive when asked about the Devils' captain. He told reporters at the postgame press conference that he expects Nico Hischier to be day-to-day.
Devils fans get great news from Sheldon Keefe in regards to Nico Hischier's injury.
There is a possibility that Hischier wakes up tomorrow in incredible pain and it ends up worse than we thought, but we'd doubt that Keefe would reveal anything if that was a possibility. The fact that so soon after the game Keefe was comfortable giving a timetable, even a tentative one, is telling that this isn't that impactful.
The Devils need Hischier as much as anyone not named Jake Allen right now. He drives offense, dominates on special teams, and plays Selke-level defense. This is a superstar, and it sounds like he might even be ready for the Devils' next game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.