Devils' Vatanen dealing with upper-body injury; didn't travel with team
The New Jersey Devils could be without their top blue-liner heading into a do-or-die game with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Sami Vatanen, who got rocked by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov in Game 4 on Wednesday, is dealing with an upper-body injury, the team announced.
Vatanen did not travel with the team to Tampa Bay on Thursday, according to Devils reporter Amanda Stein.
Here's a look at the hit that forced Vatanen from the game:
Kucherov hits Vatanen, no penalty called & Vatanen's off to the locker room #NJDevils #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/6qEB8r1SNh
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 19, 2018
Vatanen collected 28 points in 57 games after being traded to New Jersey from the Anaheim Ducks, and finished as the Devils' leader in average ice time.
Game 5 is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The Devils trail 3-1 in the series.