G13 New Jersey Devils vs Calgary Flames: Shooting for seven

The Flames enter this contest on a five-game losing streak. Can the Devils keep their fire dim?

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with our writers and subscribers.

---

A few notes to get you set for New Jersey vs Calgary, round 2:

The goals are coming

Not very often do you talk about a point per game player and feel the production is underwhelming. That’s the case with Jack Hughes.

No, not because he isn’t playing well or doing enough to justify his contract. Quite the opposite. He is playing very well and it feels like he’s getting the short end of the stick.

Jack unquestionably entered the league as a pass-first guy. He probably still is. But he has quietly developed into one of the best chance generators in the league.

He took a big step in that regard a season ago and has kicked it up another level, or four, in the early going of this season.

Hughes sits 8th in the league in shots on goal, 9th in scoring chances, 9th in expected goals, and 2nd in rush attempts. He is creating a ton of quality opportunities for himself on a nightly basis.

Despite all those wonderful stats, there are 80 players with more goals than Hughes; including guys like Lawson Crouse, Charlie Coyle, Nico Sturm, and Nick Ritchie.

As often as I see the ‘Hughes can’t finish’ or ‘his shot is too weak to score goals’ cards played to justify his lack of scoring thus far, this is the same guy who shot 15.8% a year ago. He’s finishing at less than half the rate this year.

Even if we expected some regression, this is taking things to the extreme; especially considering how many of his shots are from dangerous areas.

I think the goals are going to come in bunches once the dam bursts.