Unfortunately for the New Jersey Devils, forward Erik Haula just cannot stay healthy and is out with an injury. He was declared good to go just before New Jersey set out for their four-game road trip. He was able to dress in three of four games.
Ahead of the Devils’ tilt with the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday afternoon, did not take the ice for warmups. The Devils labeled him injured with an upper-body injury. Instead, Brendan Smith, who was a healthy scratched last game and Chris Tierney took warmups.
Tierney drew into the contest on a line with Dawson Mercer and Alexander Holtz. He last played on Nov. 30th in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Smith remained scratched in favor of Nathan Bastian.
Haula has been dealing with some sort of injury since the beginning of the season. He missed three games between Nov. 26th and Dec. 1st before returning to the lineup against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 5th.
Haula’s now missing his fifth game of the season. He’s also taken several maintenance days, being held out of multiple practices. Through 21 games in 2023-24, the Finnish forward scored seven goals and 13 points in 21 games.
Taking Haula’s spot on a line with Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli is Timo Meier. We’ll potentially get more information from head coach Lindy Ruff after the Devils face the Oilers, or early in the week before the Devils host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
It seems like whatever Haula is dealing with will be season-long and it potentially won’t be the last time the undisclosed injury sidelines the 32-year-old.
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