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New Jersey Devils Defenseman Steven Santini Suffers A Broken Jaw

Steven Santini only played in two shifts against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. The New Jersey Devils defenseman was backing into his own zone when a dumped in puck got deflected into his face. Santini finished off his shift before leaving the game. Reports say he has broken his jaw.
Steven Santini

Steven Santini only played in two shifts against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. The New Jersey Devils defenseman was backing into his own zone when a dumped in puck got deflected into his face. Santini finished off his shift before leaving the game. Reports say he has broken his jaw.

Santini was filling in for Ben Lovejoy in the Devils lineup. Lovejoy is reportedly recovering from a lower-body injury, but not many other details have been released.

Steven Santini Breaks His Jaw

The Devils turned to Santini to take Lovejoy’s role, instead of looking towards their AHL affiliate. Santini has played in 75 NHL games since being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft. 36 games came last year, where he scored 10 of his 17 total NHL points so far. The game Saturday would’ve been his first this year.

Outside of the NHL, Santini has also played in 47 AHL games after he left Boston College in 2015. He has a total of eight points in those games. He made the Opening Night Roster as one of eight defensemen.

The Devils has set a record of 4-2-0 through their first six games. They’ve scored 22 goals and allowed 14. This has been good enough to place them second in the Metropolitan Division, behind the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes, however, have played two more games than the Devils and scored only one more point.

The Devils have grabbed this strong start on the back of Keith Kinkaid. Kinkaid has taken the starting role over, filling in for the injured Cory Schneider. Schneider was placed on IR to start the year, suffering from a hip injury. He is slotted to start in the AHL on Saturday, as a part of a conditioning stint.

Kinkaid has recorded two shutouts so far this year. He’s faced 136 shots through his five games so far. Only eight of those passed Kinkaid, as he’s set a record of 4-1-0. He has the second lowest goals-against average in the early going, with a 1.61.

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Gabriel Foley

Gabriel Foley

Gabriel Foley serves as the Senior Editor and SEO Analyst for Last Word on Hockey. He is nearing his 7-year anniversary at the site and is one of the crew's many NHL Draft experts, on top of covering the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres.

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