Devils Practice Before Trip to Philadelphia | NOTEBOOK

Back to work after a tough overtime loss to the Nashville Predators last night, the Devils resumed practice ahead of traveling to Philadelphia this afternoon.
The Devils suffered their first overtime loss of the season to Nashville and hold a record of 19-4-1 after Friday's game. Looking to get back on track, the Devils hit the ice at noon today.
For the latest from Devils practice, stay tuned to the Devils Notebook!

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Practice Details:

The Devils practiced Friday afternoon at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House inside Prudential Center. Afterward the team boarded a bus for Philadelphia to take on the Flyers Saturday evening.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood joined the team for his first practice session since suffering an MCL sprain. Forward Miles Wood was on the ice for practice. He missed Thursday night's game with an illness.
For Blackwood, who has been out since being injured Nov. 3 at Edmonton, it was a sign of progress.
"Just another step along the way," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's progressing nicely. We'll evaluate this with each practice he gets."

The Devils used the following workflow…

Big Ticket:

Devils forward Alexander Holtz, 20, rung up his second goal of the season with a heavy one-timer on the power play that gave New Jersey a 3-2 lead Thursday night against Nashville.
As the puck was coming to Holtz, who was standing above the circle, he had to make a slight adjustment. Initially, he intended to shoot the puck blocker side on goaltender Juuse Saros. But a Predators defender ended up in the shooting lane. So, mid-shot, Holtz adjusted to send the puck over Saros' glove for the tally.

"I saw their D was coming a little bit too much on the left side, so I was aiming on the right," Holtz said. "I see (the defenseman) and then do a different kind of thing with my follow through."
The goal has given Holtz, who was playing in his second game since being recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League, a lot of confidence in his ability to score at the NHL level.
"It's something I've worked on a lot. So, it was nice to get that one in (Thursday)," he said. "It's a confidence boost to be able to do it at this level as well. Just continue to do it all the time and not just once."
The coach staff, including Ruff, took notice of Holtz's recent play since his recall.
"Great shot. I though he played well in the game," Ruff said. "Moved well. The pace was good. He managed the puck well. Did a lot of good things. Scoring the power-play goal is his specialty. His shot is the gift that he really has. The more times we can get him the puck in that situation, the better off we'll be."

12-6:

Without Wood, the Devils dressed eleven forwards and seven defensemen. At least on paper.
After the first period, the coaching staff decided to move defenseman Brendan Smith to a forward position to create a more natural 12-6.
"It's tough when you try to use seven D," Ruff said. "I wanted to go back to four lines and try to shorten the shifts but use everybody."
"Personally, I love playing defense. But I enjoy changing it up and getting a different feel and seeing things," Smith said. "You can be a little more loose as a forward and get more opportunities. You can also get bigger hits so it's fun in that sense and get on the forecheck."
Smith has some experience playing forward, having done so during his tenure with the New York Rangers. Ruff was a member of the Rangers coaching staff at the time, so he knew Smith had the versatility in his arsenal.
"I was around Brendan in New York when we used him at forward and I thought he played very well," Ruff said. "That line was a big part of generating pressure that drew a penalty. We ended up scoring on that power play."
Smith, 33, is a team-first guy and consummate pro. So, when the coaching staff asked him to make the switch, he was happy to oblige.
"We needed that in the lineup to get everything back on page because seven D is kind of tough," Smith said. "I'll do whatever it is to help the team win. Whatever it is they need me to do, I'll do it."
He added: "But I'd rather go play D."

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