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The New Jersey Devils have called up goaltender Eddie Lack from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton and sent Ken Appleby back it was announced early on Sunday.
New Jersey has assigned G Ken Appleby to @BingDevils (AHL).
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 4, 2018
The club has recalled G Eddie Lack from Binghamton. pic.twitter.com/gDjcmR70DZ
Lack suffered a lower body injury that kept him out of action for nearly three weeks but had recently returned to the ice for Binghamton in last Friday night’s contest against the Belleville Senators, where he made 28 saves in a 3-2 loss that ended up in a shootout.
While his $2.75 million salary is deemed quite high for the standards of the AHL (last year of a two year, $5.5 million deal), Lack has a combined record of 3-4-3-0, 2.35 GAA, 0.915 SV% with Binghamton and the Stockton Heat. The 30 year-old Lack also saw some time this season playing in the NHL for the Calgary Flames (1-2-0-0, 5.29 GAA, 0.813 SV%) before he was traded to the Devils for defenseman Dalton Prout in late December.
Meanwhile, Ken Appleby will return to Binghamton after his NHL debut in a mop-up roll making 24 saves against Philadelphia after Keith Kinkaid was injured in a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on Jan 20. Five days later he also made his first NHL start vs Nashville that resulted in a 3-0 Devils defeat with him making 27 saves as the 22 year-old is in his last season of a three-year contract signed in Oct of 2015. His NHL line reads 0-1-0-0, 1.45 GAA, 0.945 SV% in three outings.
Since then Kinkaid has returned but all of this is happening due to Cory Schneider’s absence with a lower body injury that has kept him on the shelf since Jan 23 in a game against the Boston Bruins.
NJ is back in action on Tuesday against the Senators in Ottawa while Binghamton hosts the Laval Rocket on Wednesday.