Devils' Curtis Lazar will 'miss some time' with lower-body injury

The New Jersey Devils will be without one of their 2023 trade deadline acquisitions for the foreseeable future. On Tuesday morning, coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that right winger Curtis Lazar will “miss some time” with a lower-body injury. There is no timetable for Lazar’s return.

Lazar, 28, was injured during Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers and missed Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Devils acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks on trade deadline day, March 3, for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick. He had played in just three games since the trade in a checking-line role, logging just 8:57 in average ice time and managing one shot on goal while delivering 12 hits.

Lazard has struggled to stay healthy this season, already having missed periods of 10 and five games with the Canucks, landing on injured reserve twice. He has been limited to 48 games, amassing three goals and five points. When in the lineup, he was quite an effective defensive forward for Vancouver this season, grading out as one of the better scoring-chance suppressors in the league. He has become quite a physical player, too; this season, he sits in the 95^th percentile in hits per 60 among NHL forwards with at least 300 minutes played at 5-on-5. In his first three games as a Devil, they had a 61.36 percent shot attempt share with Lazar on the ice at 5-on-5.

The Devils hold a 45-18-7 record, good for second in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who have two games in hand. If the Stanley Cup playoffs started today, the Devils would have home ice for a 2-versus-3 matchup against the New York Rangers, who currently sit five points back with an equal number of games played.

The Devils’ .693 points percentage this season would stand as their highest in franchise history by a significant margin if it holds, topping their .677 mark of 2000-01.