Pavel Zacha's 2017-18 campaign was quite disappointing on the surface.After tallying 24 points as a rookie, his point total only increased by one as a sophomore.This despite spending all but two weeks of the 2017 summer training in New Jersey for what he hoped would be a big breakout season.While the counting totals don't necessarily show it, Zacha did make some meaningful progress.The vast majority of each game is played at 5v5. In that game state, Zacha's individual numbers increased across the board. Significantly so in many cases.Zacha's underlyings were much better, too.In 2016-17, the Devils controlled 46.22% of the chances and 34.88% of the goals with Zacha on the ice during 5v5 play.In 2017-18, the Devils controlled 48.41% of the chances and 47.54% of the goals with Zacha on the ice during 5v5 play.Last season's numbers were right around the team's average without him where as the Devils were noticeably worse with Zacha on the ice as a rookie.If he was so much better at 5v5, how come his overall numbers were almost identical? Great question, I'm glad you asked.A lot of it comes back to the power play. He played nearly 130 minutes on the man advantage as a rookie and just a hair over 90 as a sophomore. That cut in ice erases at least a couple points even for players who aren't efficient.Luck didn't help Zacha's cause either. His on-ice shooting percentage on the power play was 10%, which is below league average. Had that number been closer to the team average of 14.4%, they'd have scored more goals and he'd have a few more opportunities to collect points.Offensive numbers aside, Zacha was quietly spectacular on the penalty kill. Among six forwards to log at least 60 minutes of ice while down a man, Zacha was at the top of the list in every key category.Though Zacha's PP ice, and thus production, dipped, his 5v5 play improved and he was the team's best penalty killer.After doing some digging, you can see Zacha took a step forward in 2017-18. Let's just hope it becomes a little more evident next season.