As Ryane Clowe celebrated Christmas back in his native Newfoundland, he had an idea of what was waiting for him.
After the final game preceding the league’s mandated three-day holiday break, a horrifying 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago, Clowe was approached by Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello and told to be ready to play when the team returned to action.
Well, come Friday morning, Clowe showed up to the Prudential Center and there was his name on the grease board, finally back in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 13, when he suffered his third (possibly fourth) concussion in the past year.
“I had three days off here, so it’ll be interesting to see how I feel tonight,” Clowe said, preparing to play host to the Blue Jackets, who went into the break winners of two straight and 6-3-1 over their past 10. “I’m just taking it the first period, I want to get my legs under me. I’m not looking to do anything crazy out there. Just good to be back and get back into it.”
Coach Pete DeBoer is planning to ease Clowe back in, placing him on a fourth line with Andrei Loktionov and Stephen Gionta. DeBoer said he doesn’t think conditioning will be a problem – Clowe has been skating on his own since early December – but is not about to toss him right into a top-six role, and might even sit him for the second leg of this back-to-back Saturday night against the Islanders on Long Island.
“He’s been out for a while,” DeBoer said. “Anytime you’ve missed the kind of time he missed and you jump in at this point in the season, timing and things like that will be something he has to work through.”
Clowe, 31, was injured when he took an elbow to head from Jets winger Jacob Trouba in Winnipeg, and he immediately knew the all-too-familiar feeling of a concussion. Early last season, Clowe reportedly was concussed while playing for the Sharks, then after being obtained by the Rangers just before the trade deadline, suffered consecutive head injuries bridging the Blueshirts’ regular season and postseason.
“That was a different situation,” Clowe told The Post. “They had just traded for me, it was the first round of the playoffs, they wanted me to get back in there. I was going to be a UFA [unrestricted free agent] that summer, so I might have rushed back.
“But the trainers and Torts [coach John Tortorella] were all good to me,” he continued. “There was no pressure.”
As an unrestricted free agent, he signed a five-year, $24.25 million deal with the Devils, and knows it’s not looking like such a good move right now.
“When I got injured, I had just signed here, they were relying on me to make an impact, and then you’re six games in and all of sudden you’re missing 30 games,” Clowe said. “So it was tough, but it’s been so good how they’ve treated me here and made it so easy on me.”
The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder has scored more than 20 goals twice in his previous eight seasons, yet in his first six games with the Devils had just one point – an assist. He took his time coming back from this concussion, first thinking he could return before Christmas, then realizing it made more sense to wait until he was fully ready to contribute.
And that includes throwing his body around and playing a rough-and-tumble style.
“Physical play is a big element of my game,” Clowe said. “I think if I try to tiptoe around that, or try to look at different ways, I think it will affect my game.
“So I have to, as much as I can, bury it in the back of my mind. I’m happy to be back. I feel good. Knock on wood, I won’t have to go through that again.”
Captain and defenseman Bryce Salvador (foot) took part in the morning skate, and though he won’t play Friday, he will travel to Long Island in hopes of playing Saturday.
DeBoer said Salvador is technically “day-to-day,” and didn’t rule him out.
“I think the reality is with guys that have been out for extended periods, we’re probably not going to play them back-to-back, anyway,” DeBoer said. “But you never know. It’ll be day-to-day.”
Martin Brodeur will get the start in the Devils’ net, his fourth in the past six games. Curtis McElhinney will be the starter for the Blue Jackets, who are expecting reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky (groin) to travel with them on their upcoming four-game road trip, starting Tuesday in Colorado.