The New Jersey Devils' playoff odds are sitting pretty at 95.8 percent, with a 75.4 percent chance of clinching third place in the Metropolitan Division according to MoneyPuck.
Now, for the first time since December, New Jersey has won three games in a row -- and it couldn't come at a better time. In those victories, there have been reasons to have hope for a strong finish to the regular season and beyond.
Replacing Jack Hughes' offense
The injury to superstar Jack Hughes was a huge blow to the team's confidence, and many feared that it would also affect offensive production in a major way. It looked like that may be the case in the first two matches after his season-ending surgery.
Longtime linemate Jesper Bratt is just shy of breaking the franchise record for assists in a season, but given how inseparable those two skaters are, Sheldon Keefe had the tall order of finding a new trio for Bratt to be a part of.
Skating with Cody Glass and Erik Haula, two unlikely candidates, the line has been dominant in the past three wins. That trio has a Corsi-for of 56.1% at 5v5 and is outshooting the other team 14-8 per Natural Stat Trick. Not to mention, they've combined for four goals and 10 points in total. Of course, Bratt is leading the way with two goals and four assists.
"Obviously, it's hard for anyone in particular to replace what Jack does on the ice," Bratt told NHL.com after Thursday's game. "It's just been a good feeling in the group that we feel like every single line is contributing in their way. Everyone is really finding their game, finding their structure. I think that's kind of been the confidence boost for the whole team."
One key to the offense has been getting on the board early; the Devils scored first in each of the last three games. That ties into the season-wide win percentage of .742 when scoring first, good for 7th in the league.
The Devils are still finding a way to hit the back of the net with contributions from throughout the lineup -- something that will be key to finding playoff success.