Connor Brown has been one of the most positive parts of the New Jersey Devils’ early-season success. Brown already has five goals and an assist in 11 games played. On top of his goal scoring, he has been consistent on defense, playing a fantastic two-way game.
Brown has been out of the lineup over the weekend, missing both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks matchups. His absence was obvious, with the Devils playing poorly in both games.
The Devils are dealing with a lot of injuries, so we can’t put all the blame on Brown’s injury, but it’s clear he had a huge impact. Luckily for the Devils, Brown is not one of the players with a negative injury update on Wednesday.
In fact, Brown might return on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. The Devils are looking to bounce back after a disastrous West Coast trip, and getting Brown back is the first step to success.
Connor Brown and Cody Glass will help Nico Hischier with his incredible workload
Another step is getting Cody Glass back. After an injury that wasn’t expected to be severe, Glass has been out longer than expected. He’s already missed seven games, and he likely won’t be in the lineup on Thursday night.
However, Glass is getting close. He skated with the Devils on Wednesday. The hope is that he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
The Devils getting these two players back will really impact the lineup in a positive way. Right now, Sheldon Keefe is trying Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer (playing center) with Brown. That pushes Ondrej Palat back into the top six, this time with Nico Hischier and Arseny Gritsyuk.
Since Glass went down on October 21st, Hischier has been on the ice for six goals against at 5v5. Only Timo Meier has been on the ice for more as a forward, and he’s usually Hischier’s linemate. Glass’s eventual return to the lineup will take serious defensive responsibility away from Hischier.
It’s not like Hischier’s line won’t go up against the best of the best, something that’s almost a badge of honor for him at this point. However, with Glass out of the lineup, the Devils have Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, and Luke Glendening/Juho Lammikko as their other centers. Do you trust any of them to shut down Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki on Thursday?
Brown will also lessen that blow, even on a line with Mercer. They should take on some of those really hard matchups, leaving Hischier some open space to make plays against lesser competition.
The Devils are getting somewhat healthier, although they still miss multiple pieces. However, getting Hischier going offensively is as important as anything the Devils are facing right now.