Jacob Markstrom will be out 4-6 weeks as a result of a sprained MCL in his knee.
The goalie was injured during the second period of the Devils’ 5-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday when Bruins forward Justin Brazeau crashed into him.
Markstrom remained down on the ice for several moments before skating off under his own power.
“We’ll take some time before we have a full extent on [Markstrom] but I talked to him and he was in good spirits,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Wednesday. “He commented to me that he’s feeling a lot better now than he was before so that’s positive news.”
Markstrom is 21-9-5 with a 2.20 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 games.
Jake Allen stopped all 16 shots he faced Wednesday after replacing Markstrom and likely will be in goal when the Devils play at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, NHLN, MSGSN2). The Devils also recalled goalie Isaac Poulter from Utica of the American Hockey League on Friday.
Markstrom will miss the Devils’ seven games before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and his stat
us for the tournament could be in jeopardy. He was one of three goalies named to Sweden’s roster for the tournament, which will be held Feb. 12-20 at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.
Sweden’s first game is against Canada on Feb. 12 (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT; SN, TVAS).
Sweden’s other goalies for the tournament are Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild and Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators. Among the options available for Sweden if it needs a replacement are Samuel Erssonof the Philadelphia Flyers and Anton Forsberg of the Ottawa Senators.
