{"id":40848,"date":"2019-01-30T14:56:13","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T19:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=40848"},"modified":"2019-01-30T14:56:13","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T19:56:13","slug":"sami-vatanen-out-indefinitely-for-new-jersey-devils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/01\/30\/sami-vatanen-out-indefinitely-for-new-jersey-devils\/","title":{"rendered":"Sami Vatanen Out Indefinitely For New Jersey Devils"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Jersey Devils<\/a> have announced that defenseman Sami Vatanen<\/a> has a concussion. Vatanen will be out indefinitely for the Devils. The injury occurred\u00a0on Monday night when the Devils won against the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u26a0\ufe0f Concussion for #NJDevils<\/a> Sami Vatanen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No timetable for his return.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) 30. janu\u00e1ra 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sami Vatanen Out With Concussion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sami Vatanen was knocked out of the Devils game in Pittsburgh on Monday night. He\u00a0required stitches above his eye as he suffered facial lacerations in contact with Derick Brassard<\/a>. These problems most probably led to the concussion for him. Finnish defenseman has missed both practices since and has no timetable for his return. The Devils play their next game on Thursday night against the New York Rangers<\/a> at Prudential Center.<\/p>\n

Vatanen played in 46 games this year collecting four goals and 17 points in total. The Devils already need to adjust to many injuries. Forward Taylor Hall<\/a> is still out and defenceman Ben Lovejoy<\/a> remains on the injured reserve<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What This Means for the Future<\/h3>\n

Sami Vatanen will be missed by the Devils mainly on their power play. Vatanen, already with 17 points on the year, is the third most productive defenseman on the New Jersey roster. With 13 points behind the eight place in the Eastern Conference, the Devils are in a very deep hole. Making playoff doesn’t seem probable, but nothing can be ruled out. The Devils still have 33 games yet to play.<\/p>\n

Head Coach John Hynes wants to see more from defensemen Egor Yakovlev<\/a> or Mirco Mueller<\/a> as the replacement for Vatanen. In their next game against the Rangers on Thursday night, Will Butcher<\/a> will be accompanied by Mirco Mueller<\/a> on the second pair. Third Devils defensive pair will count Yakovlev and Steven Santini<\/a>. In addition to that, goaltender Keith Kinkaid<\/a> will be in the net versus the Rangers.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>