Devils forward day-to-day with lower-body injury

It’s unclear as to what caused the injury, as there isn’t any specific incident of note from the Devils’ most recent game on Friday against the Arizona Coyotes that may have resulted in the injury. Considering that Nosek played 11:58 of ice time in the game and had his last shift with two minutes left in the third period, it either was an injury he could play through in that game but felt the need to take time off to properly heal it or one that occurred since that game.

Nosek, 31, has yet to get on the board this season, going pointless in both of his first two games with the Devils, although that’s far from enough games to start drawing conclusions about his season. He tied his career-high in points in 2022-23 with the Boston Bruins, getting 7 goals, 11 assists and 18 points in 66 games, as well as two assists in seven playoff games as the Bruins were upset in the first round by the Florida Panthers.

Curtis Lazar will be playing in Monday’s game against the Panthers as a result, both in Nosek’s place on the roster and in the lineup alongside Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian. Lazar played in the Devils’ season opener against the Detroit Red Wings, where he had a minor penalty in 10:21 of ice time. Lazar, McLeod and Bastian have yet to play on a line together since Lazar joined the Devils at the 2023 trade deadline.

Nosek was an undrafted free agent signing by the Detroit Red Wings and has played for the Wings, Vegas Golden Knights, Bruins, and now the Devils in his nine-season NHL career thus far. He’s currently on a one-year, $1M contract that he signed with the Devils in free agency.

The Devils will look to bounce back from their 4-3 overtime loss to the Coyotes with their Monday night matchup against the Panthers, with the puck dropping shortly after 7 p.m. EST.