New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes Needs Time To Get Up To Speed

The New Jersey Devils had a huge offensive explosion against the Buffalo Sabres. While scoring seven goals, Jack Hughes was surprisingly quiet on the score sheet. He didn’t account for any of those seven goals, and he only had one assist. It was the return of Nico Hischier, and he was really good with a goal and an assist, but one would expect Hughes to be in the offense at all times.

We’ve seen Hughes slowly ramp up his offense as he gets healthier before. In fact, it happened last season. It took him about 11 games to get back to the player he was prior to the injury last season. In that time, he scored one goal. He was still getting some assists, but he fell off from the point-per-game player. Despite the slump, he was clearly still a great player that was trying to overcome an injury.

He doesn’t seem to be as limited as he was when he returned from injury last season, but Hughes isn’t the same Hart Trophy candidate he was before the shoulder injury. When he went out, he had 20 points and led the NHL. He’s had three points in four games since. He was held scoreless in two games.

This isn’t the same guy, and it has come at a terrible time since the Devils are trying to work themselves out of a slump. If Hughes does take about 10 or 11 games to become the world beater he was before, the Hart Trophy conversation is likely going to end for good. He’d been too far behind the league leaders in points (including his brother Quinn Hughes).

The Devils would also need performances like they got on Saturday night to survive this slump. The schedule is working in their favor, with games against Islanders, Flyers, and Sharks ahead of them this week. Prior to this current stretch, the Devils should have dominated that stretch. Instead, it might be a struggle. We shall see.

After that, they go on their yearly trip to Western Canada. It’s a week away from home in a different time zone playing some great teams (and a weird Oilers team that might have figured it out by then). December is crucial to the Devils season. If Hughes does take 10-11 games to figure it out, that means he will be back to his old self when the Devils return from their trip on December 13th. They’ll be 25 games into the season by then. No matter where they are in the standings, that should be plenty of time to make up any deficit as long as they get eight points from now until the end of the Western trip.

Don’t fret about Hughes’ lack of scoring. It’s all part of the process. Hughes can easily become a 100 point scorer for the first time. He’s 23 points in, and he will likely get a few more as he finds his groove. There will be 57 games left once the Devils return from the Canada trip. Hughes scored at a 1.35 per-game pace from 10 games after his injury return to the end of the season. If Hughes scores at that pace from the end of the Canadian trip to the end of the season, that would be 77 points. If he scores zero points from now until then, that’s still 100 points exactly on the season.

Everything will be okay with Hughes. He’s going to be a 100-point scorer, and the Devils will likely be in the playoff hunt the entire season. Let’s just make sure we’re patient.