Knights 5, Devils 3: More of the same

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A few thoughts following yet another disappointing loss from the New Jersey Devils:

Jack Hughes was a rockstar

I’ll start with a positive. Hughes put forth – by far – his best performance since returning from the shoulder injury. Heck, it was in conversation for best since last season.

The Devils were in control every time No. 86 touched the ice. They won the attempt battle 27-13, out-chanced Vegas 15-5, and controlled nearly 68% of the expected goals when Hughes was out there.

For perspective, these were New Jersey’s 5v5 numbers without Hughes:

• 32.60 Corsi For% (15 CF, 31 CA)

• 40.90 Chance For% (9 SCF, 13 SCA)

• 33.51 xGoals For% (0.63 xGF, 1.25 xGA)

The Devils were flat-out dominant with Hughes and awful without him. And it’s not as if he was just a passenger to Jesper Bratt, who has been the team’s best player this season. No, Hughes was the facilitator. He was driving play and had the puck on a string in the offensive zone.

Hughes led the Devils in shot attempts, shot assists, shot contributions, and broke my chart.

He looked dynamic as ever and did get results, scoring a goal and having another wiped away due to an offside review.

It was the kind of performance that made GM Tom Fitzgerald comfortable giving Hughes $64 million before the counting numbers suggest he’s worth it.