New Jersey Devils announce injury timelines for Ondrej Palat, Mackenzie Blackwood
The New Jersey Devils have announced timelines for both Ondrej Palat and Mackenzie Blackwood, who are recovering from groin surgery and an MCL injury, respectively.
Palat was one of the biggest free-agent signings of the off-season, but he barely got off the ground running. He appeared in just six games, scoring three goals, prior to getting hurt. His deal, a five-year pact, carries an AAV of $6 million.
Now, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said Palat is expected to be out for eight to 10 weeks.
Prior to joining the Devils, Palat was an integral part of the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
#NJDevils Ondrej Palat, who had groin surgery a week ago, to be out 8-10 weeks per Ruff. Adds he just saw him in the gym and Palat jokingly said he would argue with that timeline.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 8, 2022oh no. devils goaltender mackenzie blackwood is hurt after sliding across in his crease. vitek vanecek comes in. pic.twitter.com/5tt2d0kRjJ
— zach (@zjlaing) November 4, 2022Blackwood, meanwhile, was injured last Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers. He pushed off his right leg to slide across the crease and while he did, he immediately was in discomfort. Ruff said Tuesday morning Blackwood is expected to miss three-to-six weeks with the injury.
The start of the year had been far from ideal for Blackwood. Despite a 4-2 record, he’s posted a .880 save percentage and a 2.79 GAA. Now, the team will turn to newcomer Vitek Vanecek to carry the lion’s share of the games.
After dropping the first two games of the season, the Devils have been on an absolute tear to start the season, going 9-1 since. On the year, they’ve posted the third best record among all NHL teams and have been dominating 5-on-5 play controlling 60.83 percent of the shot attempts (2nd), 59.26 percent of the goals scored (4th) and a staggering 64.32 percent of the expected goal share (1st).
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.