The New Jersey Devils have treaded water since superstar Jack Hughes was lost to a hand injury at a team dinner in Chicago. After Hughes freak injury the Devils are 4-6-0 that includes two separate losing streaks of three games. The current streak are the Devils first regulation losses on home ice.
One person riding the proverbial struggle bus in Hughes absence has been his brother Luke. The Devils young defensemen signed a new long term contract after a delayed training camp start due to his holdout. You can give a young defensemen a leash and the benefit of the doubt that they are still learning and developing, but some of the younger Hughes performances have been more than concerning and detrimental to the team.
For example, in Saturday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Hughes was ranked as having the ninth worst single game performance of the entire season, as per Hockey Stats cards. His defensive pairing with Simon Nemec had a particular bad night. Nemec and Hughes were both the lowest ranked Devils in their loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets according to Hockey Score Cards.
Nemec’s newfound clutch scoring has been a pleasant development for the Devils in Hughes absence. He was ranked as having one of the best single game performances of the year in the game immediately before Jack got injured. The Devils other three main scorers of Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier have also put up impressive numbers to make up for Jack Hughes’ absence.
The Hughes-Nemec defensive pairing was used once again on Monday which ended in a 5-3 loss against the Blue Jackets. Hughes was on the ice for three of those Columbus goals and it was his second straight game finishing with a -3 rating. That loss against the Flyer saw Hughes with a season high five giveaways. His second highest of the season was four in the prior week’s away loss to the Flyers.
Monday also saw Hughes get his second highest time on ice since his brother went down, finishing with 26:29 which was his highest time on ice for a game ending in regulation this season. The fact the Devils lost Jonas Siegenthaler to a game misconduct and Brendan Dillon, who was playing in his 1,000th NHL game, missed part of the game due to injury left the Devils shorthanded in defensemen.
The Devils goaltenders have been a subject of scrutiny whenever they struggle. Jacob Markstrom, who has a newly minted two year contract extension, has been less than spectacular with -2.50 goals saved above expected. While the goalies should be a last line of defense the defensemen themselves have to step up in front of them.
The Devils blue liners have been a part of the team’s unlucky injury list so far this season. Dougie Hamilton has returned after missing time while Brett Pesce is still said to be weeks away according to head coach Sheldon Keefe. Last season’s pleasant surprise Johnathan Kovacevic hasn’t returned from offseason surgery. Until they return the task at hand for Luke Hughes and company isn’t going to get any easier and the Devils cannot afford to falter while waiting for his older brother to return.