Back from a broken leg, David Clarkson hopes he learned something while he was out.
“I watched hockey. That was all I did. A lot of hockey,” said Clarkson, who returned to the Devils’ lineup in last night’s 3-2 home win over Atlanta after missing 13 games.
“I tried to pick things up. I wasn’t like a fan, but rather someone who watched closely, trying to learn some things,” Clarkson said. “I wasn’t able to be around for two weeks.
“When you’re not able to help your team, you try to watch your team and learn things from players that might make you better.”
Clarkson, 25, said he paid particular attention to his fellow wingers.
“I studied Zach [Parise] a lot, the way he plays, and how he can chip the puck to himself, and certain things he does that when you play with him, you say ‘Wow,’ but when you watch, you want to see how he did that,” Clarkson said. “Guys like Jamie Langenbrunner, certain guys, and that [Vladimir] Zharkov kid, the way he keeps his feet moving.”
The right wing suffered a broken right fibula when struck by a Zdeno Chara slap in Boston Nov. 27. Out a month, Clarkson returned to a team that went 10-3 without him. He left the lineup sharing the runner-up spot in Devils goal-scoring with seven, and returned still leading the team with 39 penalty minutes. He added a fight to that total last night.
“I’ve been sitting at home for five weeks, it’s a tie game. I figured I’d try to grab somebody,” Clarkson said.
Clarkson nearly scored on a power play, and had two shots, but wound up minus-2 on the night. Still, he was back quickly from a serious injury.
“I broke my leg in junior and played in 3-4 weeks, so it was about the same time period. I heal pretty quickly,” Clarkson said. “The training staff, Rich Stinziano, helped me a ton, getting ready and making sure I was doing the right things on the right days to get strong again.
“If I wasn’t 100 percent I wouldn’t be coming back. I wouldn’t be pushing it. I’ve skated for a week and I’m ready to go. It’s getting the timing back.”
Clarkson’s return meant Lowell for defenseman Matt Corrente, leaving the Devils with only six healthy defensemen on their roster, down to five with the lower body injury suffered last night by Bryce Salvador.. That’s a situation that’s unlikely to last.