NEWARK, N.J. – The New Jersey Devils are going to have to make do without goaltender Martin Brodeur for a little while.
Brodeur has a sprained right knee and the team said Tuesday that his status is going to be listed as day to day. The injury will not require surgery, but general manager Lou Lamoriello refused to say much more than that.
Lamoriello said Brodeur will need to rehabilitate the knee. But there is no timetable for his return. The Devils play at Toronto on Thursday and return home for a game on Friday against San Jose.
Brodeur, 38, was hurt on Sunday when something "popped" in his knee in the first period of a 4-1 win over the Canadiens in Montreal. An MRI on Monday disclosed the sprain.
Johan Hedberg will start for the Devils against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at the Prudential Center. Mike McKenna was called up from Albany of the AHL to back up Hedberg.
Brodeur, who has a 13-19-2 mark with a 2.74 goals against average, was not immediately available for comment.
"I am just going to try to play it game by game," said Hedberg, who played the final two periods in the Devils' 4-1 win in Montreal. He has posted a 6-10-2 record this season.
The Devils, who have had the worst record in the NHL most of the season, have posted a 9-1-2 mark since Jan. 9. Brodeur has gone 8-1-1 in that span.
"It's tough with Marty, but Moose (Hedberg) has been playing pretty good for us," center Travis Zajac said, "so we are going to have to lean on him while Marty is hurt."
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