New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur out with injured elbow
The struggling New Jersey Devils on Saturday 20 November, revealed that perennial All-Star goaltender Martin Brodeur would miss up to two weeks while he rested his injured elbow.
Brodeur was initially injured on 3 November when he took a shot from the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane off his elbow. Broduer left the Chicago game early and then sat out the two games
following the injury. The Devils used backup goaltender Johan Hedberg for those two games, both New Jersey losses.
Brodeur returned to start the next three games, however he could not finish the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday 18 November. Brodeur was removed from the Leafs game after
the second period and replaced by Hedberg.
Dr. Steven Beldner, who previously performed surgery on Brodeur’s bicep, examined Brodeur’s elbow on Friday 19 November. Brodeur also underwent an MRI.
“The MRI was negative,” Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello told the Bergen Record. “I was there with him with our doctors and the specialist and he got as thorough an examination as
you can get. It’s just a simple bruise. He has to rest it until the swelling is gone. He’ll be practising again before you know it.”
Lamoriello added that his starting goaltender would be out “a maximum of two weeks” while he rested his arm.
If Brodeur sits out for two weeks he will miss five additional Devils’ games.
The Devils are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and 29th out of 30 teams in the NHL. The only team with a record worse than the Devils 5-13 mark are the New
York Islanders, who stand at 4-12.
Brodeur’s record this season is 4-10 with a .901 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average. His 10 losses are the most of any NHL goalie at this point in the season and his save
percentage is 36th in the league.
Barring a trade, Hedberg will most likely get the nod in net with Brodeur sidelined. Hedberg is 1-2 with the second worst save percentage in the league at .855. Hedberg’s goals against
average of 4.53 is last in the NHL.
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