Hand up. My level of intrigue regarding this news has everything to do with the recency bias incurred from learning that a head doctor needed no more than a few months to help Jesper Bratt go from scoring six goals in the Swedish League to being the Devils' most confident puck handler not named Taylor Hall. If not for that psychological miracle then I'd probably find myself ready to lock Pavel Zacha in a padded room and forget that his developmental curve has plateaued until the start of next season. Luckily, the timely transformation of a 6th round pick into a top-6 mainstay has provided some precedent for the minor miracle of immediate mental health, and the most comforting part is the player in need of it has already shown flashes of what to expect when he has it. In Pavel Zacha we aren't talking about a guy that has looked completely dumbfounded since his arrival in the NHL. We are talking about guy whose skills have been on display in spurts when backed by the confidence necessary to showcase them at the highest level. If this athletic therapist can unleash the beast from his cage of self-consciousness then the Devils just might just get a better look at the player that had them oozing optimism in the preseason. It's actually unbelievable that they have been so successful while adding Pavel's PTO to the injuries they've experienced early in the season. If they can reach a point where Zacha is no longer performing like a candidate to come out of the lineup as players get healthy then they'll be exponentially better off in the long run. Let's hope whatever couch he's getting laid up on after games has him feeling more comfortable in his own skin, because the Devils are better when he's playing like himself as opposed to wondering who himself really is.
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