Football
20y

Devils D Rafalski injures right leg

TORONTO - The New Jersey Devils' already depleted
defense corps took another hit Saturday when All-Star Brian
Rafalski injured his right leg in the third period of Saturday
night's 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Rafalski was chasing Toronto left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky when
Ponikarovsky checked him into the net. Rafalski's leg slammed
into the left goalpost and he could not put weight on it as he
was helped to the locker room.

"I got spun around and kind of got whiplashed and then hit the
post with my leg," Rafalski said.

While Sportsnet of Canada reported the leg was broken, Rafalski
was more upbeat. He was able to walk in the locker room after
the game but will return to New Jersey on Sunday for further
examination.

"It's luckily not the knee," he said. "Right now, it feels
good. It went numb at first, but now I've got the feeling back.
Obviously, I'm walking now, so that's good."

The 30-year-old Michigan native is fourth on the team in scoring
- and second among defensemen - with five goals and 25 assists
in 63 games. He made his first All-Star appearance earlier this
month in place of injured teammate Scott Stevens.

Stevens, a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner and the Devils'
captain, has missed 26 games while recovering from
post-concussion syndrome. He only recently was cleared to begin
work on a treadmill and expressed hope he could return for the
playoffs.

"We've been really fortunate through the years to have our
defensemen healthy and now two of our key players are out,"
All-Star goaltender Martin Brodeur said. "Hopefully, we'll get
some help because two of the guys that log over 20 minutes of
ice time are out of our lineup."

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