Without Jack Hughes, the 2025 Hughes Bowl was still one for the ages

National Hockey League history was written on March 24, 2025. The first ever Hughes Bowl to go into overtime and then a shootout took place at Prudential Center on Monday night.

6-2-0 — with the Devils holding the edge — was the previous Hughes Bowl record. That zero is now a one, thanks to a shootout win for Vancouver courtesy of Jonathan Lekkerimaki. While some will call this Hughes Bowl uneventful for the three brothers due to all of their zeroes on the stat sheet, this one was one for the ages. Here's why.

One of the Most Exciting Games of the Year, as it Unfolded

While No. 86 and middle brother Jack Hughes was missing from the ice due to his season-ending shoulder injury and resulting surgery, the sight of both Luke Hughes and Quinn Hughes standing concurrent to one another with their No. 43 jerseys was still one for the ages.

Vancouver took the early lead with 9:51 remaining in the first period. Canucks center Pius Suter scored his 21st goal of the year, assisted by defenseman Marcus Pettersson. While the Devils outshot the Vancouver Canucks 7-5 by the end of the first frame, it seems Vancouver had New Jersey beat in terms of the quality of offensive opportunities. Quinn was especially seen getting involved in the offensive zones frequently, as usual.

Before the second frame was underway, it was ever apparent that parents Jim and Ellen Hughes were in the building via multiple sightings across social media.

The second period saw a huge uptick in offensive production in both quantity and quality for the New Jersey Devils. By the 8:00 minute mark, the Devils had 12 shots compared to the Canucks' nine; this was an increase of five shots for the Devils compared to an upping of only two for Vancouver from the end of the first.

With just over nine minutes remaining in the second period, Timo Meier also scored his 21st goal of the 2024-25 season. No. 28 was assisted by Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer as the crowd at Prudential Center absolutely erupted as soon as things got all tied up, 1-1.

Meier continued his dominance by leading the Devils in shots on goal. He finished the game with _. Another interesting statistic came from Luke's Total Ice Time (TOI), which also saw an uptick; he finished the game with 24:35.

The third period — especially from the 17th to 16th minute — saw plenty of action. Meier got his second of the game but was immediately answered with a goal from Vancouver's Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

To say the score did not remain 2-2 for long would be an understatement. With exactly 6:35 remaining, Erik Haula gave Devils fans plenty to "Haula 'bout" with a beautiful play that gave the Devils a 3-2 lead. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin was credited with the assist.

Just when fans thought things were wrapping up for the 2025 Hughes Bowl, Vancouver's Jake Debrusk ties it up with 36 seconds on the clock. The score remained 3-3 and sent the game into overtime following the conclusion of regulation.

Overtime saw an absolutely amazing performance from Devils' goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who stopped 25 for a .893 save percentage by the end of the night and forced a shootout.

After Luke Hughes missed on his first-ever shootout appearance, Lekkerimaki scored the game winner.

And while Markstrom could rightfully be seen slamming his stick in frustration, he should eventually be able to look back on this game and his previously mentioned 25 saves with pride. After all, New Jersey Head Coach Sheldon Keefe himself said postgame that the loss should not at all be looked at as a crushing defeat.

"I don't know if I would say it's crushing, it's disappointing. [But] I liked the fight of our team."

Sheldon Keefe postgame

Key Takeaway

NHL history was made. For the first time, with more than one Hughes brother on the ice, brilliant offensive prowess and goaltending forced overtime. Not only that, but outstanding netminding from Markstrom and Vancouver's Thatcher Demko forced a shootout.

Yes, it's unfortunate for Devils fans that they saw a shootout loss — but those fans who came to New Jersey specifically for the Hughes Bowl witnessed history.

Editor's Note — Jennifer Streeter was live on Press Row at Prudential Center for this story. Before the game she appeared on the Let's Go Devils Podcast via their Game Day Live. Her appearance can be found here.