Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is expected to make an ahead-of-schedule return for the team in tonight’s Game 3 against the Hurricanes (via Peter Baugh of The Athletic).
Siegenthaler was a full participant in this morning’s skate in third-pairing duties alongside Simon Nemec, per the team’s Amanda Stein, but head coach Sheldon Keefe said he’ll have reduced minutes with his conditioning understandably not in playoff form. We noted just yesterday that Siegenthaler practiced for the first time since undergoing lower-body surgery in February.
“He’s feeling good and we’re optimistic that he’ll play,” Keefe said of Siegenthaler (from Mike Morreale of NHL.com). “We’ll give him the day and every opportunity to just feel as comfortable as possible but he’s had the appropriate appointments and his leg, the bone, is healed and that’s [not] a concern at all. The only thing he needed more time with was the conditioning side of it but we’re not able to provide him with that time given our circumstances here so we intend to play him today but it’ll be in a reduced role with reduced minutes and those sorts of things.”
In 55 games this season, the stay-at-home defenseman posted a 2-7–9 scoring line with a plus-nine rating, 92 blocks, and 75 hits while averaging 19:36 per game. Siegenthaler hasn’t played since Feb. 4 against the Penguins but didn’t miss a game all year before going under the knife.
Down 0-2 to the Hurricanes and without fellow rearguards Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes for a second straight game, Keefe confirmed, the Devils are banking on a boost from the reliable defensive blue-liner, even if his even-strength deployment is limited and he’s mostly dropped in a penalty-killing role. He’ll also look to improve on his only previous playoff showing for New Jersey, when he posted three points and a minus-three rating in 11 games in the 2023 playoffs.
The Devils have been outscored 7-2 in their two playoff games thus far despite receiving expert goaltending from Jacob Markström, who has a .930 SV% and has saved 3.9 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. New Jersey has been the league’s worst defensive team at 5-on-5 so far these playoffs, allowing 3.78 expected goals against per 60 minutes and 36.5 shots against per game in all situations.
They’re also avoiding a further injury scare with defenseman Brett Pesce. He was absent from this morning’s skate but will be in the lineup tonight, per Stein.
Photo courtesy of Luther Schlaifer-Imagn Images.