There is no more vacancy at the Devils Infirmary. That, at least, is the vibe I'm putting out into the universe. There is no more room, so no one else can even consider knocking on the door. It's full. Now it's time to empty it.
But that is how it goes sometimes during a hockey season, a pileup of injuries requiring a team and players to fill an unexpected void. It's just something a team has to contend with and make the best of, with the latest addition being Jonas Siegenthaler after his foot was broken against the Canucks.
But it wasn't all tough news this past week for New Jersey, there's been lots of celebrate as well and things to make you laugh and smile. So let's have a look back on the week that was in this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.
1.
It was difficult to see Jack go down with injury again, especially when the play he was clearly injured on looked so innocuous. That's just the way it goes sometimes, unfortunately.
For Jack, Lindy Ruff said it's going to be a matter of weeks missed, not months, which is certainly encouraging. And what we know about Jack through his past injuries is that his drive to return and his insatiable desire to play never overrules getting fully healthy again. He takes care of himself, the team takes care of him and that, in the end, is always what will drive the timeline.
2.
With the way the schedule is playing out, there are only nine games between today and the All-Star Break. That could be a huge blessing at the end of the day when players recently hurt start getting healthy again. That takes us to 47 games played this season and 35 remaining.
Based on what Ruff said on Tuesday, Ondrej Palat and Tomas Nosek aren't exactly near a return, but Timo Meier is the closest of the injured players. So hopefully we see Meier, who has started skating on his own, rejoin practice in the near future.
3.
I happened to pass Jack on my way out of Prudential Center today. He's in good spirits, had his usual big smile on his face, and really that's all you can ask for from a player who is going through a recovery process. Have to take everything in stride.
4.
I wish I could have been there, but Brendan Smith's Kan Jam looked like such a fun time! I really cannot reiterate how important and how touched Smith was that all his teammates took one of their off days to support him. It really can't be underestimated what that means to someone, especially with how valuable those days off are.
From all the comments I've seen, it looked like the fans who were part of the event also had a great time, especially, I would imagine, the duo that was paired with Nathan Bastian, who took home the tournament championship!