New Jersey Devils: Kevin Bahl’s Wasted Opportunity
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils have been trying to get out of a slump that basically lasted all of December. They have been playing better since Christmas (which tends to be a theme), but they haven’t completely gotten out of their funk. A big piece missing from the lineup is John Marino, who suffered an upper-body injury and was declared out for weeks. That injury allows Kevin Bahl to jump into the lineup.
Many have been hoping Bahl would get an opportunity. Some expected him to take over for Brendan Smith, but he really grew in his partnership with Damon Severson. Bahl needed an injury to get in the lineup, and it happened.
While we were upset that Marino was out of the lineup, we were excited to see what Bahl would do with the opportunity. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone well.
It’s been five games since Marino got hurt. In that time, only Graves has a worse Corsi Percentage (and he only played two of the five games) amongst defensemen, only Michael McLeod and Miles Wood have a worse high-danger chance percentage, and he’s allowed as many goals in 52 minutes as Damon Severson has seen in 100 minutes. Bahl has struggled. There’s no doubt about it.
Can Bahl play himself out of this slump? Is this something that can be fixed? His major problem is positioning and decision-making. It’s either that he doesn’t trust his instincts or that he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to be doing. We believe it’s the former because he was much better earlier this season.
Bahl will be in the lineup for now. Lindy Ruff trusts him more than his other options. The Devils already sent Tyler Wotherspoon back to the Utica Comets. Nikita Okhotiuk is still on the roster, and his ability to knock a player into next week is something the Devils could use with Nathan Bastian out of the lineup. Still, Coach Ruff will likely lean on Bahl until he forces himself out of the lineup.
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The Devils have been playing some really good forwards, but they face a much easier forward group in Detroit on Wednesday. Hopefully, Bahl will get a chance to redeem himself. If he can’t do it against Detroit, the team with the ninth-fewest goals in the league, then it’s hard to argue he can do it when the teams get better.