The New Jersey Devils announced that forward Kevin Rooney is dealing with an upper-body and is day-to-day.
⚠️ #NJDevils Kevin Rooney is out from practice with an upper body injury
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 14, 2019
Kevin Rooney Injured
As the Devils took to the ice for practice on Thursday at Prudential Center, Rooney was not among the participants. The Devils made it known before practice that Rooney sustained the injury during the disappointing 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. It is unclear when the occurred, but Rooney was able to finish the game. Considering Rooney did not practice today, he is unlikely to go against the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night and Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Since making the team out of training camp, Rooney has appeared in 13 games recording just one point. Rooney made the team because of his versatility as he can play centre position as well as on the penalty kill.
Going Forward
Along with Rooney, the Devils remain without Sami Vatanen (upper-body injury) and Connor Carrick (injured reserve). Both Vatanen and Carrick skated before the team took to the ice for practice. Vatanen will remain out of the lineup through the weekend. With Rooney out of the lineup, Pavel Zacha dropped to the fourth line. He centred Wayne Simmonds and Miles Wood. Zacha had moved up to the wing playing with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt at times. While Zacha can play centre, he has been shining since moving to the wing.
The Devils continued to make lineup changes today at practice. Jesper Boqvist came back into the lineup. He played the wing on the second line alongside Hischier and Bratt. As the Devils sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, they look to generate more offence Friday night. Unless something changes, John Hayden will remain a healthy scratch for the Devils against the Penguins Friday night, who will be missing Sidney Crosby from their lineup.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
