On Friday night, Mar. 1, the New Jersey Devils went into the Honda Center, looking for a crucial win over the Anaheim Ducks. With the Ducks being a bottom three team in the Western Conference, this was a game that most people thought would be an easy victory for the Devils. However, the Ducks spoiled that idea as they would go on to win the game, 4-3.

The play of the night happened when New Jersey was awarded a penalty shot with two seconds left in the third period. The call was made when Ducks forward, Frank Vatrano, intentionality dislodged the net in order to keep the Devils from scoring a tying goal. The refs saw it, and Devils head coach, Lindy Ruff, decided to have star forward, Jack Hughes, take the final shot. Everyone thought that a goal was going to be scored when Hughes stepped on the ice, but that wasn’t the case. Hughes mishandled the puck after it was touched by the goalie’s poke check, and did not get a shot off. Ducks’ goaltender, Lukas Dostal, made 52 save on the night; inevitably winning the game for his team.

Hughes, who famously said “People pay to watch me play”, was under a lot of fire directly after the game. This would include the Ducks X account, posting what they thought was an appropriate response.

While New Jersey was the victim of “trolling” from their opponent last night, they were also under a lot of backlash from the fans. Both members of the Devils fanbase and their rivals, took to X to voice their opinions on this embarrassing loss.

Fans were not happy that Hughes was the one taking the shot. They were not happy that Lindy Ruff continues to coach this team every game. They were not happy that their team has now displayed three awful performances in their last five games. With the team still being out a playoff spot, and a harder schedule coming up, it is unsure as to if this team can make their final push.

With fans getting angrier by the day, and General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald, declining to answer the media, this team is a recipe for disaster. There is less than two months of hockey to be played, and it doesn’t look good for New Jersey and their fans. As for Jack Hughes and his comments on the game: