Season Threatening Rash of Injuries Strikes the Devils Early in the Season

So far the New Jersey Devils have a 7-5-2 record. They are currently third in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference...So far so good right?

Nope not so fast, all of a sudden the injury bug has struck the Devils and struck them hard. First it was the newly acquired free agent signees Brian Rolston (Sprained Right Ankle) and Bobby Holik (Broken Right Pinkie). After this happened most Devils fans thought "oh well they will come back later in the season and we will just have to manage without them until then". Little did most of us know, this would only be the beginning of the injury bug.

About 10 days later it would be rookie Pierre Letourneau-Leblond that would suffer a nasal fracture during a fight. To make it even worse, the next day Defenseman Andy Greene went on the IR after suffering a broken hand.

So now Devils fans were wondering what else could possibly go wrong. Well, we got our answer during the Nov. 1 game against the visiting Atlanta Thrashers. Martin Brodeur who has been the most important player in the Devils entire franchise history, hurt his left elbow and would require surgery taking him off the ice for three to four months. This truly was the last nail in the coffin for the Devils as more injuries would come.

Now the Devils will have to face the rival New York Rangers for the first time in a very long time without Martin Brodeur. With the season still very young, it is too early to count any team out. Only one this is for sure...the Devils have a very long road ahead of them.

Here is a list of the Devils injured players...

Player	Date	Status	Injury
B. Gionta RW	Nov 8, 2008	Day-to-Day	Head, Shoulder
B. Salvador D	Nov 8, 2008	Day-to-Day	Left Foot Injury
P. Martin D	Nov 3, 2008	Injured Reserve	Upper-back Soreness
M. Brodeur G	Nov 2, 2008	Injured Reserve	Left Elbow Surgery
A. Greene D	Oct 30, 2008	Injured Reserve	Broken Hand
P. Letourneau-Leblond RW	Oct 29, 2008	Injured Reserve	Nasal Fracture
B. Holik C	Oct 19, 2008	Injured Reserve	Broken Right Pinkie
B. Rolston LW	Oct 17, 2008	Injured Reserve	Sprained Right Ankle
B. Tallackson RW	Oct 6, 2008	Injured Reserve	Irregular Heartbeat