Jack Hughes proves he belongs on Team USA after dominant performance vs. Denmark

It was scary at first, but the Americans prevailed over the Danes 6-3 on Saturday afternoon. It was a true team effort on offense, as six different players hit the score sheet. Only Jack Eichel had multiple points, and Team U.S.A. was really buzzing with three of its forward lines. Even with the three goals against, most of the Americans were either even or positive in +/-.

There were a few really impactful players on the ice, including Brady Tkachuk, Zach Werenski, and Jack Eichel, but one who seemed to catch everyone’s eyes was New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes.

Hughes started the tournament on the fourth line with Brock Nelson and JT Miller, but Mike Sullivan appears to have lifted Hughes and Nelson to a third-line capacity. After their performance in game two of the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, we’d be surprised if they didn’t get even more time against Germany on Sunday. 

Hughes was incredible, scoring the final goal for the U.S. on an insane individual play. Hughes got the puck off a turnover forced by Nelson in the neutral zone, skated to the back of the net, then banked the puck off the Denmark goalie. 

Jack Hughes dominates for the Americans at the Winter Olympics

That goal was vintage Jack Hughes. He knew that one of three things would happen with his “shot.” That was either going to tip off a Denmark player into the net (which is what happened), it would get to Brady Tkachuk for an empty-net goal, or it would get tipped away from the net, where the Americans would likely keep possession. Even if it tipped to a Dane, it wasn’t much of a risk. It had a better than 50% likelihood of ending up in the back of the net. 

And that’s what Hughes brings to Team USA. He’s got insane Hockey IQ, but he also has a creative mind. That’s how plays like this work out in his head. He knows his desired result and the factors going against it. Here, this was way more likely to be a goal than anything else. 

Earlier in the period, Hughes extended his shift so he could play with Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel. He played an important role in keeping the puck in the zone multiple times and getting passes cycled. Eventually, Guentzel scored off a Matthews feed. That made Hughes +2 on the day.

In just 13 minutes on the ice, all at 5v5, Hughes was as noticeable as anyone in the game. We expect Coach Sullivan to reward Hughes in future games. At least, he should.