The New Jersey Devils are fighting for their playoff lives right now. After just a dreadful run that started at the end of the Christmas break, the Devils are now ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets by two points. At the time of this writing, the Blue Jackets have won four in a row, and the Devils can't get out of their own way.
Luke Hughes left the game with an upper-body injury. The play didn't look too ominous. Hughes came on the ice to start his shift with the power play, but he had to quickly speed up to Kevin Stenlund, who was trying to get an offensive chance while shorthanded.
When they ran into each other, Hughes immediately skated back to the bench, and Simon Nemec took his place. The play itself looked harmless, which is the scary part. Jonas Siegenthaler looked like a harmless play, and he's out indefinitely. If the Devils lose Hughes, they are in trouble.
Weird sequence on this Luke Hughes play, where he appears to injure himself (?). pic.twitter.com/X9fcv6NCrv
— David Castillo (@DavidCastilloAC) March 2, 2025
Luke Hughes injury is way too scary to even speculate, but thankfully he returned
Thankfully, Hughes returned at the start of the third period. We'll learn more at the end of the game, but we're just happy we didn't lose him for any period of time.
Luke Hughes is as important as anyone on the Devils roster this season. He's by far the Devils' most important left-handed defenseman with Siegenthaler on the shelf. This would get hairy if he didn't return.
They do have Santeri Hatakka playing for the Utica Comets, but he just came back from a major injury of his own. He might not have any choice but to play NHL hockey soon.