The New Jersey Devils moved blueliner Jonas Siegenthaler to the IR on Tuesday after he broke his foot blocking a drive from Vancouver’s Filip Hronek.
The injury occurred last Saturday when one of Hronek’s signature bombs hobbled the Swiss defenseman, who could not reach the bench before Canucks centerman J.T. Miller scored a net-front effort.
Siegenthaler’s trip to the IR comes as no surprise after coach Lindy Ruff told reporters his player’s foot was broken on the play following the 6-4 home defeat.
Though the stay-at-home defenseman had struggled to gel with top-prospect Simon Nemec in the absence of usual partner Dougie Hamilton, out with a torn pec, he brought valuable experience and defensive sensibility to a group rocked by injury and leaky goaltending.
With Siegenthaler out, Nemec will likely become rookie phenom Luke Hughes’s third regular partner of the season as John Marino and Kevin Bahl remain the team’s sole intact pairing.
New Jersey recalled defenseman Cal Foote and forward Shane Bowers from the AHL Utica Comets in a corresponding move.
The Devils will rely on some combination of Foote and veterans Brendan Smith and Colin Miller to fill Siegenthaler’s nearly 20 minutes of average ice time.
The injury could not come at a worse time for New Jersey, who are already missing Hamilton, power forward Timo Meier, superstar Jack Hughes, two-way forward Ondrej Palat, and bottom-six winger Tomas Nosek.
The team harbored Stanley Cup ambitions in the offseason but finds itself staving off the surging Pittsburgh Penguins and middling Washington Capitals for sole possession of fifth place in the Metropolitan Division as the midway point draws near.
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