Ondrej Palat is out indefinitely for the New Jersey Devils after the forward had groin surgery Tuesday.
The forward has missed the past three games. Palat has three goals in six games this season.
“It’s definitely unfortunate news for us, but on the other hand, it opens up new opportunities for new guys,” Devils center Nico Hischier said. “We’re one team so I always say if you’re out, nobody wants to be out, so he’s still on our team. He’s still watching our games, texting us, so he’s still part of the team and we’ll try all to battle for him hard and obviously wish him a speedy recovery.”
The Devils have won three in a row as they start a three-game road trip at the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SN360, MSG, MSG 2, ESPN+, SN NOW).
“We keep dealing with it the same way we’ve been dealing with it,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think some of our young guys have filled in well. He’ll still be around. He was around even these past few days, and I think his leadership around the room, even when he’s not playing, it’s going to be something that the guys are going to lean on.”
Palat is in the first season of a five-year, $30 million contract ($6 million average annual value) he signed July 14 after playing his first 10 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 31-year-old has 426 points (146 goals, 280 assists) in 634 games and helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and reach the Cup Final last season.