Devils Daily: Brendan Smith Brings the Boom, Alexander Holtz’s Ascent

There was a lot that went down with the New Jersey Devils yesterday.

For starters, it’s likely safe to say Seamus Casey is the Devils’ top prospect now. Simon Nemec is skating into his 17th game of the season tonight and just continues to look better and better. He’s likely not looking back at the AHL at this point.

Well, Casey and Team USA claimed the ultimate prize in U20 international play. The Devils followed that up with a win in a physical tilt. And sandwiched between Casey and the Devils’ victory, some updates were provided regarding injuries.

Elsewhere, the narrative that Sidney Crosby’s season is underappreciated is growing, Lane Hutson is kind of a beast, and is it time to talk an extension for Jonathan Drouin in Colorado?

Let’s do that hockey.

New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Hockey Now: Brendan Smith laid a clean, BIG hit on Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard that took him out of the remainder of the game. The Devils went on to secure a 4-2 victory. Read up on the takeaways.

More NJHN: Before the Devils’ tilt with the Blackhawks, head coach Lindy Ruff provided some injury updates on Dougie Hamilton, Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat, and Tomas Nosek.

Even More: Seamus Casey and Team USA claim gold at the World Junior Championships.

NJ.com: Don’t look now, but Devils’ Alexander Holtz is heating up with an improved role. He needs to stay there.

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National Hockey Now

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Sidney Crosby’s teammates are gushing over their captain’s performance and leadership. They don’t think he’s getting enough credit.

Boston Bruins

Boston Hockey Now: Bruins captain Brad Marchand doesn’t really think the 18-year-old rookie sensation, Connor Bedard, should be compared to Sidney Crosby.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Hockey Now: Jonathan Drouin deserves a lot of the credit for the turnaround season he’s having. Is it time to talk about an extension in Colorado?

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Hockey Now: No one expects Lane Hutson to play as an enforcer once he makes it to the NHL, but it’s always entertaining to see a much smaller player take down a bigger aggressor like he did in the gold-medal game of the World Junior Championship.

San Jose Sharks

San Jose Hockey Now: Well, this can’t be good. For the second time in Sharks history, they’ve had two double-digit losing streaks in a season.

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