It has been a difficult season for the New Jersey Devils. The team has fallen into seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, as they have also been dealing with plenty of injuries. One of those injuries is to Devils star Jack Hughes, who has now missed the last two games.
Despite not playing in the game, Hughes had something to say to fans who have lost hope on the season, per JP Gambatese of The Devils' Advocates.
“I honestly have nothing to say to them, honestly. Like, for us, it's just our group. We gotta figure out a way to win more hockey games… Y'know we've got two big games here before the break, and after the break… y'know, there's a long time for people to refresh and gear up for a really good final 25 games… it's on us to find a way to win more hockey games, y'know, like I said, it's on us,” Hughes said after the game.
Part of the problem for the Devils has been Hughes. He has played in just 36 of the team's 56 games so far this year. He has found the back of the net 12 times while adding 24 assists, good for 36 points. Still, his point-per-game pace is lower than he has been scoring in recent years. Hughes has not been at or below one point per game since the 2020-21 campaign, his second in the NHL.
Hughes hopes to be back on the ice before the Olympic break, according to remarks from head coach Sheldon Keefe to NHL.com.
It's just a level of strength and obviously pain subsiding, but it's more so the strength and to be able to have the necessary reinforcement that you need to play in an NHL game,” Keefe said. “His goal is to play on Thursday and he's trying to do everything that he can to get to that point, but it's really up to the medical team. They're not confident with where he's at, but we'll just see what [Wednesday] brings.”
The Devils are 28-26-2 on the season, and nine points behind the New York Islanders for a playoff spot. The Devils return to the ice Thursday, hopefully with Hughes, hosting the Islanders.
