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The New Jersey Devils won't have captain Nico Hischier for the foreseeable future, as announced by head coach Sheldon Keefe following practice on Wednesday.
The Devils captain took a cross-check to the face during Saturday's win over the Montreal Canadiens, and left the game; he's already missed one game, and will miss several more, via NHL.com.
“It's something I think they'll evaluate again next week and then take it from there,” coach Sheldon Keefe said Wednesday. “But he won't be available this week for sure.”
“Nico is a guy we lean on for so much, whether it's power play, penalty-kill, 4-on-4, end of the game, start of the game, who to go to for a voice … it's Nico,” forward Nathan Bastian said. “When he's gone you need a collection of guys to step up, probably everyone, so hopefully we can come together and show that we can miss our top guys and still be the team we are.”
It's the latest injury for the Devils, who are already without the services of goaltender Jacob Markstrom after he was injured earlier in the month during a home game against the Boston Bruins; he suffered a sprained MCL and is expected to miss at least four to six weeks.
Hischier has 24 goals with 19 assists in 51 games played this season. Without Hischier, the Devils will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night at Prudential Center in Newark; game time is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
Devils captain Nico Hischier was on pace for a career-high in goals
Before his injury, Hischier had been on pace to reach a career-high 38 goals. His previous career-high output in scoring was 31 goals with 49 assists in the 2022-23 NHL season.
Selected with the first overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Devils, he was named the 12th captain in team history in February of 2021. In 503 career NHL games, Hischier has scored 160 goals with 236 assists, while adding two goals and six assists in 17 career postseason games.
