Devils win but lose Hischier to injury

Author of his 24th goal of the season in a match won 4-3 in overtime by New Jersey, the Devils captain was injured in the second period and did not finish this game.

Hit by a cross from Nick Suzuki during the middle period, the Valais center returned to the locker room for good after attempting a single shift in the third period. The exact nature of his injury is not known, and his state of health must be re-evaluated on a daily basis according to his coach Sheldon Keefe.

A long absence of Nico Hischier, who opened the scoring after 15’52 on Saturday, would be a real blow for a team which already has to cope for 4-6 weeks without its starting goalkeeper Jacob Markström (sprained knee). The Valaisan is his team’s top scorer.

Without him, the Devils still managed to secure their second victory in a row, after seeing the Canadiens come back from 1-3 to 3-3. Appenzell’s Timo Meier was decisive in overtime, assisting on Jack Hughes’ goal scored 54 seconds from the end of the extra period.

The Saint-Welsh Kings striker Kevin Fiala, for his part, made two assists on Saturday, in vain. Los Angeles lost 3-2 after overtime in Columbus, suffering a fifth defeat in its last seven outings.

Roman Josi’s Predators, who had five wins in a row, also suffered defeat on Saturday (5-2 in Anaheim). Victory on the other hand for the Stars of Lian Bichsel (2-0 in St. Louis) and for the Canucks of Pius Suter (2-1 against Washington).