Rough Night At The Office For Luke Hughes

The theme of the current era of Devils hockey is "frustration." They have a ton of talent, and where they lack they have moved boldly and decisively to address their holes, but something or other has always gone wrong. One year it might be a lack of goaltending; the next, it might be a rash of injuries to their scorers. Since taking Nico Hischier first overall in 2017, and with six top-10 picks in that span, all New Jersey has to show for its by-the-book rebuild is a single playoff series victory.

This year has been particularly aggravating. The Devils find themselves in the East's middle-of-the-pack mess, and they mostly can't get anything going because they can't score goals. They're tied for fewest in the conference, and over the last month they've played eight games—all losses—in which they've scored either one goal or zero. Jack Hughes recently returned from injury, just in time for a four-game losing streak. Tension is building in Newark, and the last thing the home crowd needed was a target for their broader angsts. Luke Hughes gave them a big fat one.