The Pittsburgh Penguins have some younger legs in their regular lineup in this season.
And one of them is earning a more elevated offensive role.
Forward Cody Glass – a former first-round pick acquired in August from the Nashville Predators – is beginning to trend up in Pittsburgh. He spent nearly all of November on injured reserve with a concussion, and he made his return to the lineup on Dec. 6.
In five games since then, Glass has registered three points – including his first goal in a Penguins’ uniform alongside Evgeni Malkin during the team’s 6-2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday:
Over the last two games against Montreal, Glass has centered his own third line with Drew O’Connor and Anthony Beauvillier and collected an assist in Pittsburgh’s 9-2 win against the Canadiens. In those first three games, however, he spent time in each game flanking Malkin, and he had two points in three games.
Head coach Mike Sullivan has praised Glass as a guy they can deploy anywhere because of his speed, his size, and his reach. There is also a lot of trust in his two-way play and in his offensive instincts.
“I think what we like about Cody is his versatility,” Sullivan said. “We can play him in the middle, we can play him on the wing… we can move him around the lineup depending on what the needs of the team are.”
Pittsburgh has legitimate center depth on their roster aside from their two stars in Malkin and Sidney Crosby, as they have options in Glass, O’Connor, Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari, and Kevin Hayes. Glass spent much of the start of the season in defensive situations on the penalty kill and the fourth line, and while he does still kill penalties, he’s earning elevated minutes because of his offensive output.
If the Penguins are going to make their way to the playoffs this season, they will need Glass to continue being a reliable two-way center the rest of the way.
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