Although he has just 16 points in 57 games this season, Tuomo Ruutu thinks he's getting better as the season goes on. Ruutu was limited to 17 contests in the shortened campaign due to hip problems and needed surgeries. The effects of that seem to have lingered into the 2013-14 season. "It was a rough start," Ruutu said. "I was injured this summer and I was trying to rehab and it was definitely not easy to come back, but I think I've been playing better lately and, hopefully, I can get some results as well." The Devils acquired Ruutu from the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.

Tuomo Ruutu has been traded to New Jersey. Details of the deal haven't been revealed yet. Ruutu has 16 points in 57 games this season and he adds some grit to New Jersey's forward group.

Carolina coach Kirk Muller thinks Tuomo Ruutu's Olympic performance could help him down the stretch. He had one goal and four assists in six games to help Finland capture the bronze medal. "He played really well, played a lot," Muller said. "I think he's probably looking forward to building on that (and) it's probably a confidence-building thing for him." Ruutu has five goals and 16 points in 52 games this season. His name has also been come up in trade rumors and the deadline is set for March 5.

Tuomo Ruutu scored Finland's lone goal in their 2-1 overtime loss to Canada on Sunday. Ruutu now has a goal to go along with three assists in Finland's preliminary schedule, pretty solid for the Hurricanes' winger. Jussi Jokinen set Ruutu up in earning his third point of the tournament so far. With the loss, Finland draws fourth seed in the pool and will play either Russia or Norway in the quarterfinals.

Tuomo Ruutu is looking to go 11 for 11 when it comes to earning a medal in international tournaments. He's currently representing Finland after helping them medal in 10 previous competitions. "It's one of the strengths of Team Finland that most of the guys know each other well, and they've played with each other before. We're really good friends and really tight," Ruutu said. "A lot of times it feels like, even though you haven't seen guys for a couple of years, when you see them on the first day, you feel like you saw them yesterday and nothing has changed." Finland has looked great early in the 2014 Winter Olympics and certainly is a serious contender to earn a medal.

Coach Kirk Muller said that his fourth line was his best line on Saturday. The Hurricanes lost 4-1 to Montreal so Muller was not happy with the team despite the good play of Tuomo Ruutu, Drayson Bowman and Riley Nash. Ruutu had his two game scoring streak halted Saturday and has five goals and 16 points with a minus-15 rating in 2013-14.

Tuomo Ruutu recorded an assist in Carolina's 2-1 loss to Winnipeg. At his best, Ruutu is a solid guy to own in leagues that value hits as he typically excels at that category while also putting up decent numbers offensively. That hasn't been the case this season though. He does have 149 hits in 50 contests, but he has scored just five goals and 15 points in 50 games. He's logging 14:14 minutes per game, which is more than three minutes below his career average.

Tuomo Ruutu has been seeing fourth line minutes of late. Ruutu has been struggling of late but managed to score a power play goal on Saturday despite playing only 9:51 minutes. He played a lot better on Saturday as he also had five hits. "That was his best game of the year," coach Kirk Muller said. "That's the way he plays, with energy. He finishes his checks, creates turnovers. We said when you're not scoring the first thing you have to do is shoot the puck. Get a little selfish. ... He had that two-on-one and he shot and he did (score). That's how it starts." Ruutu has averaged only 9:30 minutes in his last five games and has five goals and 14 points with a minus-16 rating in 46 games.

Tuomo Ruutu had a pair of assists on Sunday. He is now playing on the top line with Alexander Semin and Jeff Skinner as Eric Staal is out and will miss the next four-five days. Ruutu has 12 points in 38 games this season but his minus-14 rating definitely hurts his fantasy value.

Tuomo Ruutu registered an assist in Carolina's 4-3 overtime win against Washington. Ruutu is having an off campaign with just 10 points and a minus-16 rating in 36 games. The only silver lining is that he's still a physical force with 112 hits so far this season.