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A few New Jersey Devils notes:
1) David Warsofsky hasn't been re-signed yet, obviously, but the more I think about it the more confident I am he will be brought back into the fold.
Obviously John Hynes and Ray Shero are very familiar with him and, for whatever reason, really like what they've seen. Since joining the Devils Warsofsky has been put in every situation to succeed while some others haven't played as favorable minutes.
He has held his head above water in possession at even-strength but that's a result of being spoon fed offensive zone starts (60%+) as much as anything else. He has also been given power play time, although he has done a nice job at helping the Devils generate shots in that game state.
He can be a useful 3rd pairing/extra defenseman but he certainly has his faults. Personally I don't think I'd re-sign him (unless they can trade Jon Merrill and maybe another body) but I expect he'll be retained.
2) Kyle Palmieri was really Mr. Everything for the Devils last season. He scored 30 goals, was a key contributor on the power play, and also brought a physical presence to the top-6.
There's something else he was excellent at that he didn't get much credit for: drawing penalties.
Palmieri had a plus-13 penalty differential this season, which put hi in a tie for 12th place in that regard.
Considering the Devils clicked on 20% of their power plays, by average, that would account for almost three extra goals. That doesn't sound like much, but when you can net a few goals and make the difference in a game or two based solely on penalty differential you're doing something right.
3) The Eastern Conference Finals started in the OHL on Thursday night and Devils prospect Mackenzie Blackwood didn't get the result he was looking for (despite playing very well).
The Barrie Colts were out shot 42-29 but they lost just 3-2 thanks to a 39-save performance by Blackwood. He now has a .925 save percentage through 10 playoff starts, which leads the league by a good margin (Alex Ndeljkovic is 2nd with a .917SV%).
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