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Merrill day-to-day with ‘wind taken out of him’ after head hit

Calgary Flames v New Jersey Devils

Jon Merrill

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New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said Jon Merrill is both “fine” and “day-to-day” after he was helped off the ice on Friday and didn’t practice Saturday, per the Bergen Record.

Lamoriello previously described Ryane Clowe as “fine” last season, but it turned out the forward had a concussion. Clowe recently received medical clearance to participate in training camp.

In this case, Merrill “had the wind taken out of him,” according to Lamoriello. Merrill sustained the injury when he accidentally crashed into Ruslan Fedotenko and their heads collided. The 22-year-old defenseman appeared to be woozy, but Fedotenko was left with the impression that Merrill was feeling better once they got a chance to talk in the locker room.

Devils coach Pete DeBoer has also gotten a chance to talk with Merrill and is “not concerned about it long term.” However, he’s not sure if he’ll skate Sunday.

Merrill sustained a concussion during his NHL debut on Nov. 3. He’s projected to serve as a top-six defenseman in 2014-15 after recording 11 points in 52 games last season.

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