Devils’ Nathan Bastian Week-To-Week With Jaw Injury

New Jersey Devils forward Nathan Bastian is expected to miss “several weeks” with a jaw injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told Devils beat reporter Amanda Stein. Bastian suffered the injury in a fight with Calgary’s Ryan Lomberg on Friday. Bastian instigated the fight late in the first period, following a hard hit on Paul Cotter, and didn’t return for the start of the second period. He’d end the day with just five shifts and 3:30 of ice time – though he racked up two hits and 17 penalty minutes in that span.

Bastian has returned as a proud member of New Jersey’s fourth-line this season, leading the team’s forwards in penalty minutes and ranking seventh in hits. He’s totaled those stats despite averaging the lowest ice time (10:29) of any consistent feature of New Jersey’s lineup – and has even managed five points, already a quarter of a way towards breaking his career-high 18 points set in 2021-22. Bastian is in his sixth season with New Jersey, though his tenure was briefly intercut with a trip to Seattle in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. He played 12 games with the Kraken before being placed on waivers, where New Jersey quickly reclaimed him. He’s been on the NHL roster ever since, now in the last year of a two-year, $2.7MM contract signed last summer.

Bastian will join Curtis Lazar on the absentee list, giving New Jersey a second bottom-six role to fill for the long term. Next up is veteran minor-leaguer Justin Dowling, who’s already recorded one assist in two NHL games this season. He’s also scored four points in six AHL games, continuing his near point-per-game scoring through a seventh season. Dowling has totaled 20 points in 102 career NHL games, kicking off his career with the Dallas Stars in 2016-17. With a week-to-week absence in store, New Jersey could also turn towards a minor-league call-up to replace Bastian. Nolan Foote currently leads the Utica Comets in scoring with eight points in eight games.