The Devils’ biggest free agent signing, former Ranger forward Ryane Clowe, left Thursday’s preseason game against the Islanders early in the first period with what coach Pete DeBoer described as “a charley-horse type injury.”
He played just 2:01 on three shifts.
“I don’t believe it’s serious,” DeBoer said after the Devils fell, 5-3.
Clowe, 30, signed a five-year, $24.25 million contract this offseason.
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Martin Brodeur played the first two periods of his preseason, allowing four goals on 13 shots through two periods. He was replaced by rookie Scott Wedgewood, who gave up one goal on four shots.
The coveted combination of Brodeur with his son, Anthony, on the ice together is still yet to happen. The Devils drafted Anthony in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, and the two have yet to even practice on the same ice. Anthony, 18, likely will be sent back to his junior team in the QMJHL soon.
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After just two practices with the team, Damien Brunner made his Devils debut. Playing on a Professional Tryout (PTO), Brunner played on a line with talented forward Rostislav Olesz and Travis Zajac and finished with one shot and a minus-2 rating in 20:49 of ice time.
“I thought he gave us some jump,” DeBoer said. “He made some plays, he’s got some skill. We were disjointed as a group tonight, so I’m not sure if it was a fair game to assess anybody.”
Brunner, 27, played five seasons in the Swiss Elite League before joining the Red Wings last season, for whom he had 12 goals and 26 points in 44 games, as well as five goals and nine points in 14 playoff games.
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The Devils have made it clear that a group of their young defensemen have distinct chances at making the team, and Jon Merrill made his case on Thursday.
In the first period, Merrill took a hard shot from the point on a power play that was deflected in by Olesz to cut the Islanders lead to 2-1. Midway through the second, Merrill skated the puck to just above the left circle and fired a low, hard wrist shot through traffic that beat Poulin to the far post, getting the Devils back to a one-goal deficit, 4-3.
“I thought the kids were OK,” DeBoer said when asked specifically about Merrill. The coach went on to lament about team turnovers, pointing out again it wasn’t a very good game to evaluate players.