In the absence of some of the team's top skaters, the New Jersey Devils continue to battle to shift into a playoff mentality and close out the final 10 games of the season on a strong note. However, with a record of just 5-6-1 this month, many improvements still need to be made before the focus shifts to the postseason.
Despite those shortcomings, several skaters are quietly finding a way to compete on a consistent basis. Guys like Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt are holding down the offense as expected, but here's a look at three players who are doing the right things behind the scenes.
Cody Glass
Glass has consistently been one of the best players on the ice since his Devils debut on March 9th -- an impressive feat considering how his season in Pittsburgh was playing out prior to the trade.
In 51 games with the Penguins, Glass recorded four goals and 11 assists with a -9 rating. That's right on par with his career stats to this point as a bottom-6 forward playing just over 13 minutes per game.
Now, his +6 rating is the best on the Devils in the last eight games, which is noteworthy as the team has been outscored 26-24 in that timeframe. There's another key category that Glass is leading in: per Natural Stat Trick, the Devils are recording 61.9% of all scoring chances at even strength with him on the ice, totaling 25 more chances than his opponents.
Not to mention, New Jersey owns a goal differential of +6 when Glass is skating at even strength. Keeping in mind what the Devils were expecting out of him, Glass is certainly outperforming compared to his role in Pittsburgh.
As players like Curtiz Lazar and Ondrej Palat move in and out of the lineup, Glass has earned his spot to play in every game and is turning out to be a surprise late-season upgrade.