Curtis Lazar - Rush Attempts/60 (1st on Team)
Lazar's knee injury has him out indefinitely, and has unfortunately prevented him from making a large impact on the Devils season so far. Lazar has just 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 games played. But on a per-minute of ice time basis, Lazar's ability to play with pace in Sheldon Keefe's system stood out. He lead the team with .95 rush attempts per 60, which was 55th out of 406 eligible forwards. Hopefully the knee injury he suffered will not prevent him from getting back to his fast-paced game when he returns.
Nathan Bastian - Miles Skated/60 min on the Penalty Kill (9.76 miles)
Nathan Bastian is certainly not the most skilled Devils forward, but in his 12 games, he contributed to one of the league's most pressing and smothering penalty kills, covering ground and blocking passing lanes with his long reach and big skating strides, ranking in the 94th percentile of most ground covered on the penalty kill among forwards. He also contributed one of the Devils' three short-handed goals this season.
Justin Dowling - Defensive Zone Turnovers (0 in 12 games played)
For a 34-year-old with only 112 games of NHL experience and only 2 games played last season, Dowling has been a remarkably steady presence on the Devils fourth line in his 12 games, not making any major mistakes. According to MoneyPuck, he has not had one defensive zone giveaway so far this season, which is a big part of the reason why the Devils have had 54.7% of the expected goals during his minutes.