The New Jersey Devils went without star trade-deadline acquisition Timo Meier in Game 1 of their second-round clash against the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday night.
Jesper Boqvist took his place in the lineup.
Meier exited Monday's Game 7 against the New York Rangers after taking a crushing hit from defenseman Jacob Trouba in the third period. Trouba wasn't penalized on the play.
Jacob Trouba sends Timo Meier to the Devils dressing room with an open ice hit. pic.twitter.com/sRmGAegROP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 2, 2023
The Swiss winger didn't hit the ice for another shift, but he returned to the bench to celebrate the Devils' 4-0 victory that punched their ticket to Round 2 for the first time since 2012.
Meier hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in the 2022-23 regular season as a member of the San Jose Sharks and Devils. The 26-year-old scored nine tallies and 14 points in 21 games after New Jersey acquired him.
The pending restricted free agent failed to record a point during the Devils' opening-round clash against the Rangers and was a minus-3 through seven games. However, Meier ranked second on the team with 27 shots while leading the way with 23 hits.
New Jersey also dictated the majority of the play with Meier on the ice at five-on-five in the series, controlling 64.4% of the shot attempts, 63.7% of the shots, and 67.2% of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.
The Devils went 2-1-1 against the Hurricanes in the regular season.
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