250129_Bahl

Bahl Out Week-To-Week

It wasn't the news anyone wanted to hear.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska announced Wednesday that defenceman Kevin Bahl will be out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury, an ailment sustained when he was checked into the end boards Saturday by Minnesota Wild forward Jakub Lauko.

Bahl, acquired from New Jersey this past off-season, had yet to miss a game in Flames silks prior to the injury.

And in his first season in Calgary, he'd been a mainstay on the Flames' top pair, providing the yin to Rasmus Andersson's yang.

Huska explained his 6-foot-6 defender will be missed.

"The size and the reach, like he’s very good at kinda being in the way," he said. "His stick is very good and he disrupts a lot, like sometimes you think he’s beat, but ‘ope, here comes that long stick!’

As a Flame, Bahl's already set a career best this season in points with 14, all while skating nearly four minutes more per game than he did a year ago with the Devils.

"He’s been a very good defender for us," said Huska. "And no doubt, we’ll miss him while he’s out.

"But opportunity again, other guys have to raise their level collectively to make up for his absence."

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      "We have such a good room"

      Handy Hanley

      With Bahl out of the lineup, the role of Andersson's defence partner has fallen to veteran Joel Hanley.

      And so far, so good.

      Hanley has been a bit of a Swiss Army knife on the Flames blueline, with his recent deployment alongside Andersson the latest in a growing list of defence partners this season.

      But Hanley plays the type of complementary style that just about everyone can adapt to, whether it's a puck-mover like Andersson or MacKenzie Weegar, or a rugged rearguard like Brayden Pachal.

      "I think my game kind of fits that, as far as my simplicity in my game," Hanley said Wednesday. "I try to complement players, and just try to make sure they know where I am, and try not to be too unpredictable, and in the right spots. And when I play with offensive guys like Ras and Weegs, I try to get them the puck as much as I can.

      "I just try to play a simple game, and hope the other guy can read off me."

      Like Bahl, Hanley's average ice-time is at a career-high level.

      He's played an average of 16:12 over his 22 games this season, and he's been over 17:30 in each of his last seven games dating back to Jan. 11.

      For Huska, Hanley's adaptability is just part of the job description.

      But success in different spots - and with different partners - all falls down to the power of conversation.

      "Defencemen have grown up their whole lives playing with different partners," Huska said. "They understand how our team plays, they have to find a way to fit together. For me, a lot of that is just communication.

      "Make sure you talk when you’re on the bench, make sure you do a lot of talking when you’re on the ice. Make sure you’re both comfortable with how the other’s going to play the game."

      As for playing with Andersson, Hanley has enjoyed the ride thus far.

      All while letting the Flames' 4 Nations Face-Off participant do his thing.

      "I think once he gets involved emotionally and physically, he’s like a force out there," he said. "He controls the play when he has the puck on his stick, in the D-zone and the O-zone, he makes things happen.

      "It’s been really fun playing with him."

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          "I just gave him his game and he didn't like it"

          Lesson Learned

          Adam Klapka knows he has to walk a fine line.

          At 6-foot-8, he's expected to be physical in a checking role.

          Which he is. And was, by finishing a check on Capitals forward Tom Wilson in the offensive zone during Tuesday's third period.

          But what happened afterward, he said, simply shouldn't.

          Klapka was assessed a cross-checking minor on the play, pausing momentum on Calgary's third-period comeback.

          But even while he admitted he was in the wrong, Klapka had noble aspirations.

          "The only reason why I did that, was he did the same thing to Backs (at) the end of the first period," he explained Wednesday. "At the end, I agree I shouldn’t do it, but the only reason why I did it, was because he did the same thing to Backs."

          It's the type of heat-in-the-moment play that only NHL experience can quell.

          Klapka is only 13 games deep into his NHL career, and penalties like his minor Tuesday night are part of the growing pains associated with carving out a living in the fastest league in the world.

          He'll be back.

          And he'll be better for it.