Devils left wing Michael Cammalleri was named the second star of the week by the National Hockey League for the week ending November 27.
According to the press release put out by the NHL, Cammalleri led the league that week with four goals, four assists for eight points. The Devils were 1-0-2 in this three games that period.
Cammalleri was just returning to the team after his daughter’s bout with pneumonia put her in the hospital where she required surgery. He left the team while they were in Buffalo and ended up missing the western road trip.
In the Maple Leafs shootout win on November 23, Cammalleri had a goal and three assists (his first four point game since February 13, 2013 when he was with Calgary). He had a goal and an assist in the overtime loss to Detroit on November 25 and then added two goals in the shootout loss to Pittsburgh on November 26.
He currently ranks first on the Devils with seven goals and is second in points with 14.
Other good news for the Devils saw Taylor Hall practicing with the team on Monday. It was his first on-ice activity with the Devils since he had the surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee before the western road trip.
Hall was originally supposed to be out three to four weeks but, as he told NHL.com, “It was a non-contact kind of twist, I’m not sure if I had a little tear in my meniscus before or what. But the staff here has been great, the medical staff. And the surgeon who did it, they’ve been awesome. So I think that’s why I’ve been able to recover quickly.”
He added that he is not being pressured to return quicker than he should and mentioned that he is working hard to try to get himself into a spot to be back as soon as possible.
Hall will join the Devils on their road trip to Winnipeg, Chicago and Nashville, according to the Devils’ official website.
Hall only participated in limited drills at practice according to coach John Hynes. Coach Hynes told NJ Advance Media that he will “get some contact here probably [Tuesday] and see where he goes the rest of the week.”
According to the NHL.com article, Hall, at the time of the injury, was tied for the Devils’ lead in goals with five and points (with 12). He was first in power play goals with three and game winning goals with two and led all forwards in average ice time with 20:41 per game. They also mention that he had 60 shots on goal in 14 total games.