Cody Glass has proven his importance to the New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils had a very eventful Monday night against the Detroit Red Wings, ultimately getting themselves back in the win column.

Their 4-3 victory included a strong performance from Jacob Markstrom in net, extremely physical play across the ice (47 combined hits), and finally an all-out brawl after the final horn that resulted in seven penalties being issued out (with none of them being served).

Read More: New Jersey Devils-Detroit Red Wings matchup ends in fisticuffs after a chippy game

Perhaps lost in all of this, however, was the encouraging return of Devils center Cody Glass. The 26-year-old had missed the last four games of New Jersey's five-game road trip after sustaining an upper-body injury in Chicago on November 12, but promptly found the back of the net by deflecting a shot by Luke Hughes past Wings goalie Cam Talbot late in the first period.

Glass has missed 11 games and already made two separate stints on injured reserve this season, yet he's scored in his first game back both times. He has four goals in 11 games, which roughly translates to a 30-goal season in an 82-game schedule.

Devils are consistently winning when Cody Glass plays

The most telling stat of Glass's value to the Devils is their record when he's on the ice: in the 11 games he's played in this year, New Jersey has a robust 9-1-1 record to accrue 19 of their 29 points. In contrast, the team is a pedestrian 5-6-0 when he's been hurt.

Advanced stats have also been a good indicator of how well Glass has played to begin the year. According to MoneyPuck, the center is accumulating 0.9 expected goals per 60 minutes (xGoals), which is the third-highest on the team, only behind Jack Hughes (1.18) and Timo Meier (1.08). Glass has outperformed this metric by a good bit (1.52 actual goals over 60 minutes), but the expected stats still point to his success being sustainable.

The 26-year-old's goal-scoring ability has complemented his defensive skills; Glass is a very good defensive forward, and his presence takes some of that responsibility off team captain Nico Hischier, who is generally regarded as New Jersey's best two-way forward.

What's especially important to note is that Glass's production brings much-needed value and stability to the Devils' bottom six. Connor Brown, who scored the eventual game-winner on Monday, is perhaps the only other bottom-six player besides Glass to have been producing offensively. With Jack Hughes out for at least two months, New Jersey needs depth scoring more than ever.

If Glass can stay healthy for the rest of the season, the Devils will be a significantly better team in general.