New Jersey Devils Clearly Missed Out On Jack Hughes Worst-Case Scenario
By Nick Villano
New Jersey Devils fans were worried it was going to be “another one of those years” when Jack Hughes went down in the second game of the season. Against the Seattle Kraken, Hughes was slammed right on his shoulder and was in clear pain when it happened. It ended up being a separated shoulder, and we later learned he would be re-evaluated in December.
Now, what exactly that meant was still unclear. Was the next step in his healing process coming in December? Was that a possible recovery time? Could he return in mid-December? It was all a mystery, just like with most sports injuries, especially in hockey.
The Devils have been giving us updates on Jack Hughes over the holiday week, and they are almost all positive. He’s returned to the ice, then he actually got into practice with the team, and he was able to shed the non-contact practice jersey. It looks like he is closer to returning than we once thought.
Hughes is still on pace to get his re-evaluation at the end of this week. If he could be cleared to play at that point, that would be a huge boost for the Devils.
The Devils have been surviving without him. Pavel Zacha has been playing well on the top line, and he’s scored some clutch goals late. Also, Nico Hischier has been holding down the fort, but his shooting percentage is remarkably low and he needs to score more. Dawson Mercer has been phenomenal and he’s a big reason the Devils are still in the mix.
Right now, the Devils are four points out of a possible playoff spot and technically they are in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, but the Penguins are in the final spot and they have three games more than the Devils in terms of games played. The Devils could easily go on a run once Hughes returns. Now that Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier are fully healthy, things can go really well for the Devils from here on out.