Devils Hit by Injuries Again
Zubrus out four to six weeks with right leg injury
by: Steve Cangialosi
And the hits just keep on coming. 
Dainius Zubrus will miss the next four to six weeks with a right leg injury sustained in Thursday’s shootout loss at Nashville. By now,Devils fans are numb to it all. They’ve watched Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya, Jay Pandolfo, and Rob Niedermayer hit the injured list since the start of the season. That doesn’t even take into account the 14 games missed by Patrik Elias as he worked his way back from groin and hip repairs. The Devils have handled adversity admirably to this point, getting major contributions from kids who’ve played like men. TheZubrus injury may be the most challenging to overcome.
The 6’5” center from Lithuania reported to camp in the best shape of his life, and was quietly playing the best hockey of his three-year stay with New Jersey. His two goals and five assists through the season’s first 19 games did not tell the story of how he was consistently winning puck battles along the boards, proving that he could play with a myriad of forwards, young and old. He played all situations including power play and penalty kill. Make no mistake: this hurts.
Dean McAmmond was thrust into a much bigger role than anyone could have anticipated Thursday when Zubrus was injured blocking a shot in the opening moments of the second period versus the Predators. Jacques Lemaire moved the 34-year-old winger to the middle of New Jersey’s top line, centering Zach Parise and Elias. McAmmond showed great patience and fine playmaking ability assisting on Parise’s game-tying goal, but the Devils are smart enough to realize that it’s not the role he’s accustomed to filling. McAmmond is a short-term solution, but New Jersey’s need for a playmaking center is now evident. You could make the argument that it could have been a priority even before Zubrus and Niedermayer went down.
No one could have anticipated a slew of injuries, but a healthy Brendan Shanahan — despite being a natural winger — would sure look useful on this team right now.
What the Devils have going for them is a will to win. Thursday’s shootout was a mess (even Travis Zajac’s successful attempt), and I expect them to move forward from it. The determination of this group to battle through injury is a great testament to the professionalism of the healthy veterans, the coaching staff, and others. No player called up from AHL affiliate Lowell can be characterized as a disappointment thus far, but there is a reason players such as Matt Halischuk, Mark Fraser, and Tyler Eckford were ticketed for the minors when the season began. They are works in progress and need more time. In the long run, they’ll be better off for it. It’ll be interesting to see how long the Devils ride this group, and how aggressive they become on the trade market long before the calendar turns to March, 2010.
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