Tough news out of New Jersey today, as Ondrej Palat has been placed on Injured Reserve. The move is retroactive to Oct. 24. The nature of the injury is still unknown. It is unclear when the injury occurred. In the October 24th game, Palat logged a season-high 20:42 of ice time. He has missed the past two games for the Devils, both of them victories for the club. The 5-3-0 Devils are hoping they can continue this early success in his absence.
#NEWS: We have placed F Ondrej Palat (lower body) on injured reserve, retroactive to October 24.
After meeting with the doctors, a final determination will be made on Monday as to the next course of action.https://t.co/ACbAPJKpzS
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 29, 2022
Ondrej Palat Out with Injury
Palat, a free agent addition over the summer for New Jersey, added some stable offense for the surprising Devils. He has three goals in his first six games, while adding grit ranking 3rd among New Jersey forwards in hits. Per the Devils announcement, a decision will be made on Monday as to the next steps with the injury.
The 7th round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2011 NHL Draft is playing his first season outside of Tampa. In 634 career games, Palat has scored 146 goals, added 280 assists, with 197 penalty minutes.
What it Means
As mentioned by the team, New Jersey has recalled Andreas Johnsson from their AHL affiliate. Johnsson, who played in 71 games for the Devils last season, tallying 13 goals and 35 points, was sent down prior to the start of the season. He has played well for the Utica Comets, with a goal and five assists in four games. New Jersey is looking for his continued production to keep with the hot start to the season.
Nathan Bastian has filled in for Ondrej Palat in the interim, seeing his ice time increase roughly five minutes per game. Bastian will most likely see his ice time go back down with Johnsson coming in. He currently has just one goal and no assists in seven games.
The Devils have placed Ondrej Palat on IR with a lower-body injury https://t.co/AB1zSEbRY7 pic.twitter.com/J0lSDQFJrA
— SNY (@SNYtv) October 30, 2022
