The New Jersey Devils came into Friday night’s game riding a three-game winning streak. They also had won five out of six games. They are about as good as everyone expected they’d be at the start of the year. They also haven’t played as well as we know they can yet which is scary.
Well, they dropped Friday night’s contest against the St. Louis Blues by a final score of 4-1. It was a 2-1 game but the Blues deposited two empty netters. It was the second half of a back-to-back on the road and their winning streak was snapped. They are now 6-3-1 following the loss which is an outstanding record still but they haven’t separated themselves yet.
You’d like to think it is coming but they lost a lot more than the game on Friday. They lost their superstar centerman Jack Hughes to an injury. Hughes accepted a pass that got him in on a mini-breakaway. Jordan Binnington made the save on Hughes’s first shot and then he tried to score his own rebound.
In the process, Hughes took a tumble and crashed into the board. It looked like he smashed both his shoulder and head into the board very hard. It was a very scary moment for all Devils fans around the world. Hey, all hockey fans took a deep breath when Hughes went down. He’s that special.
The New Jersey Devils saw Jack Hughes get hurt on Friday night in St. Louis.
He did get up on his own power and stayed on the bench. He also played another shift following the hit but he did then leave and never returned. That is not good for the game of hockey as he needs to be out there as much as possible.
Not good for the #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/D01iIiwwRz
— Puck Prose (@Puck_Prose) November 4, 2023
Through the first ten games of the season, Hughes leads the NHL with 20 points. If he misses any time with this injury, he will be passed up but if he doesn’t, he will remain in that race all season long.
For now, Devils/hockey fans are going to have to wait and hope for the best. One of the best players in the league took a hard tumble and we are waiting to hear what the issue is going to be.
With Nico Hischier also making his way back from an injury, this couldn’t have come at a worse time for New Jersey. We’ll see how they handle it.
Their next game will be the third game of their four-game Western Conference swing. It will take place on Sunday night at the United Center as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Hopefully, Hughes is able to suit up for that game. If not, we can only hope that it isn’t long after.