New Jersey Devils: Hall and Hughes Have Instant Chemistry
New Jersey Devils stars Taylor Hall and Jack Hughes played their first game together on the same line. There was instant chemistry.
The New Jersey Devils have some elite offensive talent. It starts with their former Hart Trophy winner in Taylor Hall who made his long-awaited return to action after a nine-month absence. He was afforded the opportunity to play with the team’s number-one overall pick in 18-year-old Jack Hughes. It was a question as to how long it may take for Hughes to find his scoring touch in the NHL. Based on how the preseason has gone so far, it won’t be a long time.
Their Friday night 4-2 preseason win against the New York Rangers was the first time Hall and Hughes were able to skate in the same game together. Head coach John Hynes put them on a line with Kyle Palmieri. It took them 34 seconds to put their chemistry on display as Hughes scored that quickly into the game. It was a shock that it happened so quickly, but these two are so good and with Palmieri, they make an awesome trio.
Things were also good for the Hughes/Hall chemistry on the power play. Taylor Hall scored his first of the preseason after Jack Hughes made a really nifty move in the offensive zone to get Hall the puck. It was as pretty of a play as you’d want to see from these two extremely skilled players. They are probably going to be afforded lots of power-play ice time this year together.
Whether or not they play together at even strength early on remains to be seen, as there is also Nico Hisicheir in the mix to be Hall’s center and you really can’t go wrong with either option. Nikita Gusev will come into play when it is decided if Hughes or Hischier play with Hall but there is no doubt the Devils are going to have a really nice top six.
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In addition to Hall and Hughes’ goals, Blake Coleman and Michael McLeod added in tallies of their own. It is obviously just preseason, but they have played well in every game and the guys that are the key players have been the key players in these wins. MacKenzie Blackwood played the entire game and showed that he is ready for the season as well.