BLOG: End of Season Injury Updates

After wrapping up the season's slate of games in Philadelphia on Monday night, the Devils will hold player exit interviews Tuesday and Wednesday.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and defensemen Ty Smith and P.K. Subban did not play in the team's final game of the season.
For full updates on their injuries and any other injuries sustained by players throughout the season, check back throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.

Nathan Bastian, F, Lower-Body
Bastian suffered the lower-body injury March 18 vs. Pittsburgh. He missed the next 15 contests while working his way back into the lineup. Bastian returned April 17 at NY Rangers, though he could still feel the effects of the injury.
"I still feel it," he said. "It sucked during a shortened season having to sit out 15 games. It was only four weeks, but when you're playing every other night, the games start to add up pretty quick. I still feel it, but it's not that bad. It was tolerable to play through. I can spend some time now to make sure that I get it good to go for next year."
Ty Smith, D, Shoulder
Smith had been playing through a sore shoulder which was reaggravated in the latter part of the season. Smith hasn't played since May 3 versus Boston and sat out the final four games of the season. The rookie defenseman does not believe the injury will interfere with any of his offseason training, saying after his regular couple of weeks off the ice after a long season, he expects to be able to be back and start working on his game without concern for his injury.
The biggest challenge through it all was Smith's competitiveness and not being able to be on the ice with his teammates.
"It sucks not being able to play," Smith said, "You want to be out there with the boys, regardless of the situation our team was in. It's just a sore shoulder, I've got a little bit going on with it but it should be good to go for summer, here and get a good offseason."

Andreas Johnsson, F, Lower-Body/COVID
Johnsson suffered a lower-body injury on April 25 and missed six games for the Devils. The forward worked his way back into the lineup for the team's last two games of the regular season. In his first game back on May 8, Johnsson scored a goal and played 12:47.
"It was important for me to come back and play these two games, just to finish off the season in a good way," Johnsson said.
In his exit interview, Johnsson plans on taking a few weeks off before resuming training. He hopes that after a few weeks of rest he will be in a good position to train at a full speed.
In addition to a lower-body injury, Johnsson was one of the players hit by COVID-19 in February. The forward said he struggled with his conditioning and getting his lungs back to full strength after he was sick with the virus. Johnsson suffers from asthma and was able to start to feel normal after a month.
Mackenzie Blackwood, G, Back/Upper Body/COVID
Blackwood missed the Devils final game of the season after tweaking his back in the May 8 game against the Islanders. Although he missed the season finale, Blackwood said he's good to go and it's nothing serious, simply his back locked up. The starting goaltender also missed two games in April after suffering an upper-body injury on April 18 against the Rangers. However, the goaltender does not expect any injuries from the season to linger into his off-season training.
Blackwood was also hit by COVID-19 and missed a month due to the virus. Blackwood said it took about three weeks for him to start to feel better.
"Got off to a good start, missed about a month with COVID, and just trying to get your feet back underneath you for awhile," said Blackwood on his season. "You're playing catch-up you kind of are going uphill. I think I struggled a bit there in the mid-section of the year there. I felt pretty good for the last three weeks, a month of so (of the season)."
Pavel Zacha, F, Lower-Body
Zacha missed a five-game stretch in mid-April with a lower-body injury. He went down April 11 against Pittsburgh and returned April 22 at Pittsburgh to bookend the recovery. Despite returning for the final 11 games of the season, Zacha was still dealing with the issue. Due to the injury, Zacha will not be playing in the upcoming IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia.
"I'm going to need a little bit of time (to heal), but not too much off right now to get it fully dialed in so I can train and do the off-season on-ice workouts," Zacha said. "That's still something that I have to rest and recover from but it's good."
Jesper Bratt, F, Lower-Body
Bratt suffered a lower-body injury after blocking a shot on April 13. The forward missed four games but was able to finish out the season.
"It wasn't terrible, it's the end of the year, there's going to be injuries," Bratt said. "I don't think it affected my game in a negative way, I was ready when I came back to play."
Bratt said he expects to start off-season training after one or two weeks of rest for his foot. He feels pretty good at the end of the season and is looking forward to getting back to training soon.
Damon Severson, D, Foot
Alternate Captain Damon Severson revealed Wednesday that he played the second half of the season with a broken toe. The defenseman said it did impact his game particularly when it came to skating.
"It still hasn't healed properly so I feel like that that affected my game a little bit, the way I skate," Severson said. "I feel like (skating) is one of the strengths of my game so if I was to assess my game I can definitely get better, can keep growing as a player."
Severson said that his mobility was impacted by the broken bone and he experienced pain throughout the season. He also said it impacted his power when it came to pushing off his leg, and acted up during quick reactions during games. Severson plans on giving his foot time to heal during the off-season before starting his off-season workouts. He only expects the healing to take a couple of weeks and is working with the team's doctors to make the full recovery.
P.K. Subban, D, COVID-19
Subban missed the final 12 games of the season after catching COVID-19 in late April. The defenseman has fully recovered but due to asthma and the protocols put in place, he was unable to get back to game shape before the team played their final game on May 10.
"Things got better as the days went on and I feel 100% recovered now. It's too bad we didn't have a little bit more time so I could get back on the ice and play with the guys a few games before the season was over, but (I'm) back now and feeling good."
Due to missing the final two and a half weeks of the season, Subban said he will look to start his off-season programming a little bit earlier this year after he takes a physical and mental reset starting with his birthday on Thursday.