John Marino has been a game-changer for the New Jersey Devils

James Nichols, a New Jersey Devils reporter for The Fourth Period, joined Daily Faceoff Live Thursday to discuss the Devils’ season and how John Marino has been a major contribution on the blue line since his acquisition from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nichols also chimes in on the evolution of Kevin Bahl and how the monster defenseman has been solid on the blue line as well for the Devils.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m looking at this blue line, and we all know who Dougie Hamilton is, he’s legit, but you said it, this blue line is on par kind of with the Rangers and at the beginning of the year that would’ve surprised a lot of people. What’s been the biggest surprise to you on the Devils’ blueline that’s allowed them to have this success? 

James Nichols: Yeah, I think most people might say, including myself but the evolution or revelation of John Marino. Just because the Devils basically got him for pennies, they sent Ty Smith and a draft pick to the Penguins. It was surprising during the time of the trade that the penguins are giving up a player with the term. But I’d say that Marino has helped stabilize that blue line a little bit; he’s been playing really well in tandem with Ryan Graves. As a duo, I just think they have been one of the best, if not the best, duo for the Devils.

James Nichols: More recently, Kevin Bahl has turned it on, and the evolution of Bahl has been really good as well. This bolds well for that physicality aspect we talked about a little bit earlier because he is the largest player on that team at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, maybe more than that. The evolution of Kevin Bahl and the acquisition of Marino have been really good for this team. Now that they have Luke Hughes in the mix, we will see how much he plays, but it’s a luxury that they have for their seventh defenseman at this point right now.