Devils win three, but lose Nico

The New Jersey Devils continued their roller coaster ride in week 3 of NHL action. Taking on the Canadiens (5-2), the Capitals (4-6), the Sabres (5-4) and the Wild (4-3), the Devils collected six valuable points but also lost their captain for the second time in the early goings of this young season.

This time, Nico fell victim to a check to the head by Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton in Saturday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. He briefly returned to the game thereafter but could not finish the game and also missed the team’s final game of the week vs. Minnesota. His status for the upcoming games has yet to be determined.

Earlier in the week, Nico had scored his first two goals of the season in games against the Canadiens and Capitals. For these two games, he received a total of 36:22 minutes of ice-time, recorded seven shots on goal and prevailed in 65.8% of his faceoffs. Yet, he finished his week a minus-2.

The Devils will continue their 2023-2024 campaign with three road games later this week. On Thursday, they will take on the Wild in a rematch of Sunday’s game at 8 PM ET, before travelling to St. Louis in time for a Friday night encounter with the Blues (8 PM ET). The week will conclude with a trip to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Sunday evening at 7 PM ET.