Devils miss Hughes more than they know, and it sounds like the nightmare will end soon

The New Jersey Devils just aren’t the same without Jack Hughes. Ever since the Devils’ talented scorer went down, the team has suffered. That much has been evident on the ice on the scoreboard. The team is 3-7-0 in its last 10 games and fading in the Metro Division standings.

But as a December 18 piece in The Athletic pointed out, Jack Hughes’ absence weighs heavily on the team. The piece points out the following:

With Jack Hughes, the Devils scored 2.32 goals per 60 minutes 5v5. That total was good for 19th in the league. The numbers are good, but hardly great. Still, that offensive production kept the Devils in the hunt for the top spot in the Metro.

Since Hughes went down, the Devils’ scoring has taken a nosedive. The club now scores 1.87 goals per 60 minutes 5v5. Ouch.

Okay, but what about the power play? Doesn’t that make up for the difference in scoring 5v5? Um, not really. With Hughes, the Devils averaged 8.22 goals per 60 minutes while on the man advantage. That was good for 10th in the league. Not bad.

Unfortunately, without Hughes, those numbers take a massive hit. The goals-for drops to 5.63 per 60 minutes, good for 23rd. Such a difference is far too great to ignore.

What the numbers point out is that the Devils just haven’t been able to adjust to life without Jack Hughes. It’s unfortunate because missing a top player would encourage the remaining cast to step up.

But what Jack Hughes’ absence has done is evidence just how top-heavy the Devils really are. Perhaps it’s just a psychological issue. Missing their best scorer could have impacted the Devils more than they imagined. Maybe it was the nature of Hughes’ freak accident that shell-shocked the club.

Be that as it may, the article offers this interesting insight:

“What the Devils miss most is Hughes’ dynamic ability to turn chances into goals. By xG, the drop has been minimal, but the lack of finishing comes down to a huge loss of talent.”

However, it sounds like the Devils might be getting Hughes sooner rather than later. We're coming up on the six-week timeline where Hughes is set to get evaluated. Multiple reports say he could be back soon, and even Luke Hughes said that Jack will be back "soon" on the TNT broadcast.

Perhaps that’s the bottom line. The Devils can create chances, but they just can’t follow through on them. It’s a tough reality, but at least there’s a plausible explanation for the dumbfounding numbers.