New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier reunited with his teammates in practice Tuesday, but his performance in the season opener remains uncertain.
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The Swiss man suffered a muscle strain in his leg during the preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens on September 26. He skated for about 30 minutes in today’s session and it remains to be seen if he can line up against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
“I still have to work in the gym and run at full speed with the team. I’m already feeling good, except that there are really aspects to polish. It’s a bit like a case being judged daily or within minutes after a game, he commented on the Devils’ official website. In the end I have to feel ready. I don’t want to come back too early in a long season. It’s a relatively small problem. If you start too early, you will be bored for a long time. You have to be careful.”
Hischier also touched on his evening at the Bell Center, which ended abruptly. “In the first half I felt stiff. That’s when I left the ice and we discovered the problem. Looks like something broke. Certainly it was a good thing to stay away.”
In 2021-2022, the club’s captain accumulated 21 goals and 39 assists for 60 points in 70 games.