The New Jersey Devils have been one of the best teams in the league. From game three on, the Devils have been mostly unstoppable. This was despite Jack Hughes playing a decent-but-less-than-unbelievable game. Hughes was really good, and he’s been at a point per game for most of the season. However, it always felt like he had another level. Now, we’ve seen that level.
Hughes scored his first career hat trick on Saturday night. He scored three goals against the Washington Capitals, a team the Devils have been desperate to beat for a long time. The Capitals were 13-3-0 against the Devils since the beginning of 2020. That was going into Saturday night’s matchup. Thanks to Hughes, the Caps are now 13-4-0.
The Devils dominated the matchup on the scoreboard, and everyone contributed. However, it was clear who the best player on the ice was. Hughes scored on three of his four shots, and something good happened every time he had the puck.
Hughes has been doing this for a while now. He has 17 points in November, which is more than double what he had in October. There is still one more game in November. Hughes is tied for sixth in the league in goals this month. His trajectory is back where we expected it coming into the season. He was always getting the underlying numbers, but now the results are following.
Some fans were calling for us to be worried about Hughes earlier in the season, but that always felt preposterous. Sure, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt both had better starts, but Hughes has always been really good. Just because he falls sometimes doesn’t mean he’s not the most impactful player on the ice.
Hughes has been on the ice for 90 high-danger chances at 5v5. Remember, Hughes spends most of his time with Erik Haula and a merry-go-round of other wingers. Hughes is the one carrying the line at all times. He’s tied for 15th in on-ice goals (he’s been on the ice for 22 Devils goals at 5v5).
This is the Jack Hughes we were expecting coming into this season. He is taking over games. He officially has 100 total individual chances after Saturday night’s game. Expect the Devils to have one of the best players in the league, and this time it’s going to be Jack Hughes.