Luke Hughes proves himself when New Jersey Devils need him most

"Luke Hughes needs a timeout." "Scratch Luke for one game let’s see what happens." "It is very interesting that the post about the flyers goal fails to mention it was on a breakaway caused by a very bad mistake by Luke Hughes. The kind of mistake that would get another player benched or even benched for a few games, considering he’s prone to these mistakes."

Those are all very real comments from Devils fans this month. Luke Hughes has been getting roasted for his play as of late, but the hate is unwarranted. We will admit, there has been a loss of chemistry between him and Brett Pesce, causing some issues for them defensively, but the numbers show that it's mostly on Pesce. Hughes has just one more giveaway than Pesce at 5v5 since Christmas according to Natural Stat Trick, and he makes up for it by having one more takeaway.

On Wednesday, Luke Hughes showed why the Devils take his bad habits with the puck. He's about as good as anyone defensively, but he has such an incredible skill set, that it more than makes up for those chances given up.

We mentioned earlier this season how Luke Hughes was trending to become the fastest defenseman in the league. He now has 11 speed bursts over 22 miles per hour, and he showed what he could do with it on Wednesday. He was rushing with his brother Jack Hughes, and he actually used him as a decoy to score a goal.

Luke Hughes showcased why he is an important part of the Devils' core

That play is obviously ridiculous. Luke Hughes is one of maybe three defensemen in the league who could do that. Cale Makar can do that. Maybe Adam Fox can do that. We're not sure anyone else can do what Luke Hughes did above. The speed it takes to go from zero to skating past defenders then putting that shot in the exact spot it needs is why Hughes is a player to be reckoned with for a long time.

The goal came exactly when the Devils needed it. Think of the timing here. The Devil just got a goal from Ondrej Palat, but that was sort of a fluke. Jack Hughes was trying to pass to Stefan Noesen on the power play, but it went into the skates of a Flyers player. Palat went to shoot it, and it was tipped. It fluttered past Sam Ersson and into the net.

Better lucky than good, but that doesn't get the team moving like a superstar performance. That's what Luke Hughes did on that play. He got the team going, which lit a fire under this team when they needed a blowout win in the worst way.

Luke Hughes's numbers aren't where some would like, but simply watching him play hockey tells everyone who he is. His defense has become worlds better. He's been on the ice for 1.71 goals against per 60 minutes. There are 19 players on the Devils who are worse. When looking at the NHL as a whole, 699 players are worse than Hughes.

The offense is going to come for Hughes. He showed on Wednesday night that he has too much talent to deny. Yet, people still will. They will see a rough turnover and lose faith in what's the most talented defenseman this team has had since Scott Niedermayer. Instead, understand that Luke Hughes is going to make up for it with an amazing offensive performance.