Devils' Nathan Bastian drops the gloves and leaves game with broken jaw
Last night, the New Jersey Devils' forward Nathan Bastian dropped the gloves against Ryan Lomberg and left the game with a broken jaw.
One of the most one-sided games of the season awaited fans who tuned in Friday Night for the clash between the Calgary Flames and the New Jersey Devils. During the first period, an incident highlighted the general animosity between the two teams.
With just over five minutes to go in the first period, Ryan Lomberg and Brayden Pachal landed a dangerous hit on Flames' Paul Cotter. Pachal made first contact, and when Cotter fell on the ice, Lomberg jumped on him.
A few seconds later, Nathan Bastian came to avenge his teammate and dropped the gloves against Lomberg. Unfortunately for him, that may have been a mistake, as we witnessed one of the biggest beatdowns of the season.
Lomberg landed multiple punches on Bastian's jaw, and in only a few seconds, referees intervened to let Bastian retreat to the locker room.
Click on this link to watch how it all happened!
This season, Bastian, 26, scored five points, including two goals, in 12 games with the Devils. The 6'4" forward played 229 games with the Seattle Kraken and the Devils in his NHL career.
Jaw injuries often take weeks to heal. Even if some players can play with a caged helmet, it's not unusual to see the injured players miss several weeks. That wouldn't be such a tough blow for the Devils, as Bastian, a fourth-liner, isn't a key piece in the team's offensive group. While he adds a lot of depth to the bottom six, he can be replaced until he gets back to 100%.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Nathan Bastian will be injured long-term? | ||
| Yes | 35 | 62.5 % |
| No | 21 | 37.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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