Luke Evangelista stays home vs. Capitals after fever

First, the good news: Evangelista was back on the ice Friday morning after a few days stuck in bed.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Luke Evangelista has returned to #NJDevils practice. He's been out the last few day fighting a fever.

He has been one of the nicest surprises of New Jersey's early season. The Devils got the 24-year-old winger from Nashville for 2 draft picks, and before he got sick he had 2 goals and 3 points in 5 games, with 12 shots and 4 blocks. Then the fever hit. He missed the trip to Detroit, and he missed Thursday's home game against the Rangers too.

With Cody Glass the only player missing from Friday's skate, Evangelista slid right into Glass' spot in the lineup. Connor Brown filled in on defense next to Dillon so the pairs came out even.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Luke Evangelista is currently skating in Cody Glass' spot. Glass is absent from today's #NJDevils practice. Brown is skating as a D-pairing with Dillon to even things out on the back-end. Otherwise, no changes for #NJDevils. Team heads to Washington this afternoon.

Being on the ice doesn't mean he's ready to play, though. A couple of hours later the team said Evangelista won't be on the flight to Washington. He has burned through a few days fighting the fever, and his legs need another day or 2 to catch up. It's a single road game, so there's no point dragging him along.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Luke Evangelista will not travel with #NJDevils to Washington. After fighting a fever the past few says and missing the past two games, he’ll still need another day or two to get his legs back up to speed. Given that it’s a quick one off he’ll stay home, and the hope is he’s back on Tuesday.

That's the right move. A guy who was sick in bed this week doesn't need a quick there-and-back trip to play one game at less than full speed. Tuesday is the date to circle. If he's back, he should step straight back into a top-6 role on a team that has missed his scoring.

Glass not being at practice looked worrying for a minute, but it turned out to be nothing.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Maintenance day for Cody today, he will travel with #NJDevils. He skates on his own this morning.

Amanda Stein@amandacstein

Cody Glass is the lone absentee for today's #NJDevils practice.

So the Devils go to Washington mostly intact. Glass travels, Brown keeps getting reps, and Evangelista stays home to rest. What to watch for now is whether Evangelista practices fully Monday. If he does, the plan for Tuesday looks good. If he doesn't, this illness has gone on longer than anyone wanted.