The Devils were ravaged by a rash of injuries on the defensive side of the puck in the postseason. Of the team’s regular six defensemen, three were knocked out of the lineup while the other three were playing at way less than 100 percent.
The Devils lost Brenden Dillon, Johnathan Kovacevic and Luke Hughes in the playoffs. While Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler had recently returned from injury, and blueliner Brett Pesce was playing very banged up.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of a team just so unlucky,” defenseman Brett Pesce said. “It happens. It’s part of the sport. It’s a hard game. We were on the bad side of the injury healthiness. It is what it is.”
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Dillon fell on the his back during the second period of Game 1 at Carolina.
“It was a scary incident on the ice. I’ve never had any concussion, neck, back, really anything bad, ever in my career,” he said. “I suffered a neck injury on the play. I actually felt great, had my helmet and skates on, ready to go for the third (period).”
However, the training staff opted to keep Dillon out. In hindsight it was the right call. Though at the moment, he wasn’t so thrilled.
“A couple broken sticks. Some choice words,” he said. “When you’re emotional and want to be in the fight at the best time of the year, it’s hard to pull back.”
Dillon, who was cleared of a concussion, now has the entire off-season to recover from the injury.
“Come (training) camp, it seems very optimistic that I’ll be good to go, able to be myself, work on things, get better this summer,” he said. “I’ve been on the phone a lot over the past 7-10 days with players around the league who’ve had similar injuries, with doctors and surgeons. The resounding answer has been yes – I’ll be good to go for September and October.”
For Dillon, who played all 82 regular-season games, the timing couldn’t have been worst. But he’s thankful for the care he received.
“It was the right decision not to go back out,” he said. “I’m really appreciative and credit to our staff and coaches.”
Kovacevic’s knee injury is much more severe. It may require surgery and his availability for the start of next season is unknown.
“It looks like I’m going to have to get surgery and be out for a decent amount of time,” he said. “I don’t anticipate I’ll be ready for the start of next year either.”
Kovacevic suffered the injury on the first shift of Game 3, though he finished the opening period before being pulled from the game.
“Things happen quick,” he said. “I went into a hit and my knee felt a little off. Played the rest of the period, but in the intermission I got it check out, and the doc said I couldn’t go back out there.”
For Kovacevic, like Dillon, the sadistic irony is that he also appeared in all 82 regular-season games.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “A lot of times, the good and the bad in life just come together. I want to stay focused on the positives. I’ll be back next year, stronger and a better athlete. I’ll take care of myself more. I’m going to learn a lot through this and be better for it on the other side. I have to be patient. I don’t’ want to rush it. I just want to make sure I’m the best I can be when I get back.”
Though he didn’t miss a game, Pesce was dealing with a shoulder issue that occurred in Game 1 of the series.
“Shoulder just got a little banged up,” he said. “It’s the playoffs so you play through whatever you can.”
For Siegenthaler, though he returned from a lower-body injury that he suffered Feb. 4 in Pittsburgh, he still wasn’t 100 percent. The bone was fully healed from a health standpoint. But his strength and conditioning were nowhere near ready.
“I’m still in rehab,” he said. “Just trying to get my strength back in the leg that got injured. That’s the main focus for the summer.”
If it weren’t for the dire circumstances on the Devils’ blue line, Siegenthaler would have been afforded more time. However, that was not the case.
“We were down a couple D-men, so I just came in and tried to play my game,” he said. “Play hard, skate and keep it simple, especially in that first game.”
Little did Siegenthaler know, that first game would go to double overtime and require 27-plus minutes of ice from him.
“It was kind of obvious once (Kovacevic) got hurt that I’d play more than expected,” he said. “I was ready for it mentally. I had a couple days to prepare once they told me I’d probably play. Once the game started, I was just in the moment. You do whatever it takes to help the team. I ended up playing 27 minutes. It wasn’t easy, but I got into a rhythm and that helped.”
