Although he didn't share what he specifically said, Blashill said, "The biggest thing is we got to make sure we bring it up a notch. You guys saw the last two games, they were tight games that we lost. The other team made a play in the third period. We got to find a way to make sure it's us making the play. So we got to be a little bit better."

NEWARK -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill hadn't seen his team for three days so he gathered them for a quick message towards the end of the morning skate at Prudential Center.

Veteran defenseman Trevor Daley said as a group, they just need a little extra to bridge that gap between winning and losing.

"We've been right there, right there, right there, but it's not enough," Daley said. "When you get into a situation like this, you can't keep thinking. We're right there. We just need to get a little bit more out of our group. That's going to be the focus for our group from here on in."

Of course, the danger is you don't want anyone trying to do it all himself, it has to be a team effort.

"Bringing it up a notch means work, compete and detail," Blashill said. "The detail part of it is doing a little too much. I honestly don't think we have a huge issue with that with a lot of our young guys. I think it's managing the game, managing the situation, knowing that sometimes there isn't much out there and you got to take what you're given.

"(General manager) Ken Holland said this to me a long time ago, any time you force things in life, you can be in a tough spot, and it's the same thing in a hockey game. So let's take what's given and let's make sure we compete and our work ethic is great."

DIFFERENT ROUTINE: Normally the Wings would practice at home and then travel the day before a road game.

Because of the three-day break for the Christmas holiday required by the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, the Wings left early Wednesday morning and then went straight to the New Jersey Devils' rink from the airport.

"It wasn't a whole lot different for me waking up early," said Darren Helm, father to three young girls. "You just get to the plane and then taking off and getting here, getting ready for a skate. I don't think it's a huge challenge the day of flying in, but it is a little bit of a different look for us. I think we had a good skate out there today, so I'm feeling good."

The team had to drive to the airport in the dark with near-record low temperatures in metro Detroit.

"The morning started at six in the morning," Daley said. "That's kind of unusual for us. It's an early morning, not a normal day. We're just going to the hotel right now. I don't even know where we're staying. It's definitely a different day, but once 7 rolls around tonight, it's all the same."

As Blashill pointed out, both teams are in the same boat.

"We traveled, but that's not a big difference," he said. "You get on the plane, you get here, you eat some breakfast and you're ready to go. Both teams get a pregame skate, both teams get to go, I think sometimes a break is a good thing. We better have tons of energy and tons of attention to detail."

ANOTHER TOUGH FOE: Trying to get back on the winning side of things will not be an easy task against a Devils team that is currently leading the highly competitive Metropolitan Division.

The Devils are 21-9-5 overall with 47 points in 35 games, one point ahead of the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets, who have each played 37 games.

"It's a real good hockey team," Blashill said. "They've added some pieces this year, a good number of pieces that I think have made their team better. I also think sometimes it's confidence and they got some swagger going for sure. They're a really good hockey team. No question about it. When we played them earlier, I said to myself, 'They're here to stay. This isn't a fluke by any stretch.' They're well-coached. They got a good captain, good leadership and they're a real good team."

Among those new pieces are four rookies in Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, Nico Hischier and Blake Coleman.

"They're a young, fast team," Helm said. "It's going to be tough. Coming off a break, they've got some younger legs that will probably be buzzing around. That's definitely a big challenge, and I think they've got a team that can score some goals pretty quickly as well."

Bratt, 19, is sixth in rookie scoring with 10 goals among 23 points; Butcher, 22, is ninth with two goals among 23 points; Hischier, the number one pick in this past summer's NHL Entry Draft, is 11th with five goals among 21 points; Coleman, 26, is 27th with five goals among 10 points.

Blashill knows Coleman from having coached him with the Indiana Ice in 2009-10.

"I'd say first of all, he seems to be really thriving," Blashill said. "There was definite trust from (Devils coach) John Hynes to him when we played him early. You could tell, he'd play him against anybody. I watched them in Edmonton actually before we played Edmonton, I could tell he had definite trust in him. I think as a young player if you want to play lots, gain trust. He's certainly done that.

"He was a player that we traded for that came in and helped us in Indy. He's just continued doing what he did for us. He's just done it at each level, he did it in college and now he's doing it in the NHL. I don't think it's necessarily a change in his game. I think if anything, it's understanding what makes him real good and he's got good speed and a strong body so his ability to get on the forecheck is excellent. He's a good defensive player and he's willing to do what it takes to win. So I just think it's a matter of him doing what it takes, not only at the level in junior to be successful, but he's doing the same thing here."

The Devils have won a season-high four games in a row and five games in a row at home, improving to 11-5-2 at Prudential Center.

"Good team," Daley said. "They've been playing well. It's going to be tough challenge for us and a good challenge for us. You get to play against a good team and try to get back in the winning column."

The Devils are also 7-1-3 against Atlantic Division teams and have gone 4-2-1 against the Wings since the 2015-16 season.

Jimmy Howard was in the starter's net for the morning skate and he is 4-2-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .897 save percentage in 10 games against the Devils.

ODD NUMBERS: The Devils have 15 players from the United States, most in the league, and only four from Canada, fewest of any team in the league.

By comparison, the Wings have eight players from the United States and seven from Canada (including Xavier Ouellet, who was born in France but whose family is all French-Canadian).

The Devils have two players from Sweden, one from Switzerland, one from Czech Republic and one from Finland.

The Wings have four players from Sweden, two from Czech Republic, one from Slovakia and one from Denmark.