The New Jersey Devils have been surviving through injuries this season, but it started to catch up to them in December. They’ve gone 3-6-2 since December 1st. Ondrej Palat was the first injury, tearing his groin in late October. Then, Mackenzie Blackwood went down with a knee injury. Nathan Bastian seemed like the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the team went pretty much in the tank when he left the lineup.
Through it all, the Devils kept the defense together. Dougie Hamilton paired with Jonas Siegenthaler every game. Ryan Graves and John Marino have been one of the most surprisingly good pairs in the league. Damon Severson and Brendan Smith were very good together on the third line despite Severson paying the price as of late.
Two defensive injuries could put the New Jersey Devils in bad shape.
Well, Lindy Ruff has to trust Severson for the foreseeable future now. We learned last week that Marino will be out for weeks. Then, on Tuesday, we learned the Devils will also be missing Ryan Graves for weeks. We don’t know if it will be two or three weeks or even more.
While the offense was really good to start the season and the goaltending was still making the big saves, the defense was why the Devils were winning. The defense wasn’t playing as well as of late, but it’s still the catalyst to get the Devils out of this funk. Now, that’s an uphill climb.
The Devils need to move Severson and Smith up to the second line. That goes from a major advantage to a slight disadvantage. This also propels Kevin Bahl into the lineup full-time. Nikita Okhotyuk is also back in the lineup. Unfortunately, since they are both left-handed, one has to play on his off-hand.
If things don’t work out, the Devils could call up Reilly Walsh or Simon Nemec after the World Juniors to play on the right side with their right hand. Those are good options to add offense to a lineup that desperately needs it lately.
The Devils have a hard slate of games over the next few weeks. They start Wednesday with the Boston Bruins and then the Pittsburgh Penguins to finish off the year. This team needs to win games. After a terrible December, to keep their solidified spot as a top team in the Metropolitan Division. To survive, the Devils need to be quick to change. If the Bahl and Okhotyuk pairing doesn’t work, call up Walsh immediately. If that doesn’t work, bring up the kid. Just survive until you can welcome back a healthy Graves and Marino.