Devils' Ondrej Palat: Dealing with lower-body issue

Palat will be out of action against the Panthers on Tuesday due to a lower-body injury, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Palat's absence will see Jack Hughes shift to the wing in a second-line role alongside Erik Haula. Additionally, Alexander Holtz could see some added power-play opportunities with the second unit while Palat is sidelined. For his part, the 32-year-old Palat will be hard-pressed to get back over the 40-point threshold after also missing that mark last season, in part due to injuries that limited him to just 49 games.