Devils Prepare for Afternoon Matchup with Rangers | NOTEBOOK

The Devils held an optional morning skate Friday afternoon. Eleven players participated.
Forwards Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, Yegor Sharangovich, Michael McLeod, Fabian Zetterlund, Alexander Holtz and Jesper Boqvist, defensemen Kevin Bahl and Nikita Okhotiuk and goaltenders Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek.
Blackwood was unavailable for the Devils Thursday night due to a hand issue. He was struck by a puck during Wednesday's morning skate, but was a full participant in practice.
Goalie Akira Schmid, who started Thursday night against St. Louis, was re-assigned to Utica of the American Hockey League.
Stay tuned to the Devils Notebook for more from today's practice.

Blackwood: 'I'm Fine'

Blackwood finished Friday's full practice with the Devils after being unavailable Thursday as a precaution with the finger issue.
"I'm fine. I just got a puck off the finger stuck between my stick and finger," he said. "It crushed it, but it didn't break so it's fine."

Hey Now, You're an All-Star

Devils center Jack Hughes was named to the 2023 All-Star game as the Devils representative.
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the story
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Mercer, who has been a linemates of Hughes' a lot over the past two seasons, had this to say about the accomplishment:
"He's putting up some crazy numbers. He's scoring a lot and has it going for him right now. You can see why. He's a talented player. The puck's always on his stick. He's making some great read. It's a great opportunity for him to go enjoy that and prove he's a top guy. He's been doing that the whole year."

Devils Seek Secondary Finish

Nico Hischier
has a career-high five-game goal scoring streak. Hughes has 17 goals in his last 19 games. Defenseman
Dougie Hamilton
has posted 18 points (3g-15a) since Dec. 6 - the second most by a blueliner in the NHL. Forward
Jesper Bratt
has four goals and nine points in his last eight games played.
However, the club isn't getting much help beyond those Big Four.
Michael McLeod
and
Alexander Holtz
chipped in Wednesday against Detroit. The result was a 5-1 dominating victory. But that is the only game in the past five where someone other than Hughes, Hamilton, Hischier or Bratt scored.
"You want to use that momentum and get those offensive chances to create a better flow through the game," said
Dawson Mercer
. "The more offensive time, wear them down. The more you wear them down, they get more tired, and you can create more opportunities. That's something that we want to keep pushing toward."
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full story here
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