EDMONTON- Edmonton Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be back in the lineup Monday night against the New Jersey Devils.
“There’s been some terrible reporting, people would think that they have the inside scoop on Nugent-Hopkins, that he’ll play next Saturday against Toronto or Thursday against Montreal, and it’s totally false. He will play Monday against New Jersey,” Head Coach Dallas Eakins told reporters after practice Friday morning.
The 20-year-old underwent shoulder surgery in April and was originally expected to be out until November. But while his return is earlier than expected, Nugent-Hopkins says he’s healthy, strong and ready to hit the ice.
“It’s definitely earlier, a little bit earlier than I thought at first,” he said Friday. “But, I mean, the last month I think is mostly getting your strength back and it’s there now. It’s definitely a positive thing.
“Obviously it’s very exciting and I can’t wait to get playing on Monday. It’s been a long recovery and definitely well worth it, feeling really good.”
“He’s been cleared by all of our doctors, he’s been working hard in practice, he’s fit, he’s ready to go,” Eakins added.
Nugent-Hopkins travelled with the team to Vancouver, where he took part in the warm-up before the game against the Canucks Saturday night.
Sunday afternoon, the Oilers announced Taylor Hall would be returning to left wing for Monday’s game against the Devils. Nugent-Hopkins will return to his position at centre.
The Oilers also announced backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera would get the start, after Devan Dubnyk was pulled from the game Saturday against the Canucks.
The Oilers are 0-2 after losing to the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night and the Vancouver Canucks Saturday.
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Fans of RNH were quick to share their excitement of his return on Twitter Friday afternoon.
This story was updated at 1:45 p.m. MT Sunday, October 6, 2013, to include information about Taylor Hall and Jason LaBarbera.
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