Hamilton was cleared to practice on Saturday but it is just a matter of when Hamilton feels ready to play, according to head coach Lindy Ruff. Consider him a game-time decision on Sunday.
Bratt suffered an upper-body injury in St. Louis and will likely miss Sunday's game vs. the Penguins. Luckily for the Devils, Jack Hughes has cleared COVID-19 protocol and is expected to be available.
Hughes landed on the COVID-19 protocol list after going to the All-Star game in Vegas. He was back on the ice for Saturday's practice and is expected to play Sunday vs. the Penguins. Unfortunately, it looks like he'll be taking Jesper Bratt's spot in the lineup--Bratt is dealing with an upper-body injury.
Brown missed 10 games after breaking his jaw in warmups in Calgary on January 13th. Brown played the game with a broken jaw, scoring one goal with one assist in 19:28 TOI. He has tallied five goals with 14 assists (19 points) in 26 games this season. He skated on the second line with Nick Paul and Alex Formenton in Sunday's practice.
Hamilton has yet to be cleared for contact, so he will miss at least three more games. The next opportunity for Hamilton to return will be Sunday vs. the Penguins.
Hughes recently participated in the All-Star game festivities and tested positive for COVID-19 upon his return to New Jersey. Hughes will not travel on the Devils' three-game road trip, which starts Monday but is eligible to return to the lineup for Sunday's home game vs. the Penguins.
Hamilton remains week-to-week after undergoing surgery to repair his broken jaw but the fact that he returned to the ice is a good sign. However, it sounds like he's still a few weeks away from returning to the lineup.
Dillon has missed the last three games while in COVID-19 protocol but took part in Friday's practice and will be a game-time decision on Saturday afternoon.
With Allen out for two months and Carey Price still not with the team, the Canadiens will move forward with a goaltending tandem of Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau. Don't expect to see Allen until late March.
Brown is expected to be sidelined until early-to-mid February after breaking his jaw in warmups last Thursday. Tyler Ennis has been bumped up into the top-6 to replace Brown.
Brown was hit in the face with a puck in warmups on Wednesday and played the game with a broken jaw, scoring one goal with one assist in 19:28 TOI. He'll miss some time according to head coach DJ Smith but could be replaced by Tim Stützle (COVID-19 protocol) on Saturday.
Dillon will miss Thursday's game in Detroit, opening the door for Declan Chisholm to make his NHL debut.
Chisholm was a fifth-round pick in 2018 and is set to make his NHL debut in Detroit. The 22-year-old blueliner has scored six goals with eight assists (14 points) in 27 AHL games this season.
Hamilton was already sidelined with a broken jaw, so this likely doesn't change his timeline at all. The Devils have yet to release any details of when they expect to get him back in the lineup.
Hischier missed Tuesday's game in Boston but will play tonight vs. the Blue Jackets. Hischier has been hot as of late, scoring three goals with three assists during a five-game point streak.
