It will be two weeks before the Devils even learn whether hard-nosed right wing Turner Stevenson can avoid the major knee surgery he is facing, an operation that would likely end his season. Even under the most optimistic diagnosis, however, Stevenson is unlikely to return to action before December.

Sources told The Post that the Devil medical staff has opted to wait those two weeks before making a surgery decision in order to allow blood and swelling to disperse in his right knee, to give them a clearer picture of the significant damage in that joint.