Devils 5, Predators 0: Daws dazzles in shutout victory

Nico Daws stole the show en route to his 1st career NHL shutout.

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The New Jersey Devils handled the Nashville Predators on Sunday night, picking up a 5-0 shutout victory. Here are a few observations from the game:

Jack Hughes is a man possessed

No. 86 has taken his game to a different level since he returned from the 4 Nations tournament. He almost single handedily earned the Devils a result against Dallas on Saturday and followed that up with another dynamic performance against Nashville.

Hughes was terrific at both ends of the ice. He looked dynamic on the puck, as always, and consistently threatened as both a shooter and a passer.

He routinely hit that extra gear and looked as if he was skating, and processing the game, at a completely different speed than everyone on Nashville.

The link-up play with Jesper Bratt, the rover offense in the offensive zone, the ability to find soft spots behind the defense…it was all there.

So, too, was Hughes’ ability to turn Nashville possessions into offense for the Devils. He was like a shark circling its prey in the defensive zone, hovering around defenders at the blueline just waiting for the perfect moment to intercept a pass and strike.

When all was said and done he had an assist, eight scoring chances, more shot contributions than anybody, and was morr impactful offensively than anybody.

It honestly felt like Hughes left a lot on the table. He created more than enough to pick up two, three, even four points. Luckily, the Devils didn’t need them.

Nico Daws shines again