Andrew Gross | NorthJersey

Andrew Gross/NorthJersey.com

As anticipated following the Devils’ Thursday night 3-0 loss to the Predators at Prudential Center, Friday morning saw some players being re-assigned to Binghamton (AHL).

Kathy Willens, AP

Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Kevin Rooney were sent back to Binghamton after a day with the big club. Blackwood was recalled on Thursday (he found out late Wednesday) with Cory Schneider (groin) unavailable to dress so he could back up Ken Appleby (25 saves in first NHL start). Rooney was recalled Thursday afternoon with Taylor Hall (right thumb) missing a third straight game, not to mention Marcus Johansson (concussion) and Brian Gibbons (right thumb) being out as well.

Both Schneider and Keith Kinkaid (groin) are sidelined and Kinkaid is on injured reserve.

While Blackwood could easily be recalled before Tuesday’s game at Buffalo, it would seem there’s a decent chance one or both of the veteran goalies is ready to return after the All-Star break.

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So the Devils (24-16-8) head into the All-Star break on an 0-4-0 skid, part of a bigger 2-7-3 slide.

They have slipped to fourth place in a very tight Metropolitan Division race.

The first-place Capitals, who have played one more game, are seven points ahead of the Devils.

The second-place Blue Jackets, who have played one more game, are one point ahead

The third-place Penguins, who have played three more games, are one point ahead

The fifth-place Flyers, who have played one more game, have the same 56 points as the Devils.

The sixth-place Rangers and seventh-place Islanders, both who have played two more games, are both one point behind.

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And the eighth-place Hurricanes, who have played one more game, are four points behind.

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For the first time since 1968, the Professional Hockey Writers Association conducted a midseason awards ballot, combining votes from its membership as well as online voting from fans.

“We are all thrilled to see the Midseason Awards make their return to the hockey

calendar,” PHWA president Mark Spector said. “It's a very useful exercise for those

PHWA members who vote on end-of-season NHL Awards in April, and judging by the

response of the hundreds of hockey fans who cast their votes, including our readers in

this process will ensure that this project only grows from here.”

More than 150 writers and broadcasters and 2,000 fans completed ballots for 10

Midseason Awards, which included traditional end-of-season honors such as the Hart

Trophy, Norris Trophy, Calder Trophy, Vezina Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy, Selke Trophy,

Jack Adams Award and GM of the Year.

Two new awards were also added including the Rod Langway Award, for best

‘defensive defenseman,’ and Comeback Player of the Year, awarded to a player who

has returned to a previous high level of

Here are the results:

Hart Trophy - to the player adjudged to be most valuable to his team.

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

3. John Tavares, New York Islanders

Norris Trophy - to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all-round ability in the position.

1. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

3. John Klingberg, Dallas Stars

Selke Trophy - to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

2. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers

3. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Calder Trophy - to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition.

1. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders

2. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks

3. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins

Lady Byng Trophy - to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.

1. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo Sabres

Vezina Trophy - to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position.

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

3. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Jack Adams Award - to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success.

1. Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights

2. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets

GM of the Year Award - to the General Manager adjusted to have contributed most to his team's success.

1. George McPhee, Vegas Golden Knights

2. Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Ray Shero, New Jersey Devils

Rod Langway Award - to the defenseman who best excels in the defensive aspect of the game.

1. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

2. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Comeback Player of the Year Award - to the player who returned to a previous high level of performance that was interrupted by subpar play, long-term injury or major illness.

1. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Brian Boyle, New Jersey Devils

3. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Here was my ballot in the order of how I voted.

Hart Trophy

Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, John Tavares, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Alex Ovechkin

Norris Trophy

Drew Doughty, Victor Hedman, John Klingberg, P.K. Subban, Alex Pietrangelo

Calder Trophy

Brock Boeser, Mathew Barzal, Charlie McAvoy, Yanni Gourde, Nico Hischier

Lady Byng Trophy

Auston Matthews, Loui Eriksson, Jason Spezza, Henrik Zetterberg, Adam Henrique

Selke Trophy

Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar, Sean Couturier, William Karlsson, Jonathan Toews

Vezina Trophy

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck, Jonathan Quick, Sergei Bobrovsky, Henrik Lundqvist

Jack Adams Award

Gerard Gallant, Jared Bednar, Paul Maurice, Bruce Cassidy, John Hynes

GM of the Year Award

Ray Shero, George McPhee, Brad Treliving, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic

Rod Langway Award

Drew Doughty, Victor Hedman, Zdeno Chara, Jonas Brodin, John Carlson

Comeback Player of the Year Award

Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Quick, Kris Letang, Dustin Brown, Brian Gibbons

(A quick note on why I didn’t include Brian Boyle on my comeback player of the year award. In my opinion, a comeback is based on the previous season, not something that happened previously in the current season. That’s just my own personal view).

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