It was on Thursday Feb. 8 that Jack Hughes returned to the lineup for the New Jersey Devils against the Calgary Flames, but it wasn’t until Monday Feb. 12 that he would make his presence known. The star center for the Devils had missed 11 games since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 5. Prior to their win against the Colorado Avalanche, he took part in the morning skate, but did not play.

“We definitely played really well last game. It was a big win coming out of the All-Star break so hopefully we can ride that and piece together a bunch of wins and make a serious push here,” said Hughes.

The Devils were 4-6-1 and were outscored 41-35 in the 11 games without Hughes. At the time of his injury, Hughes was leading the Devils in assists (30) and points (45) in 32 games. Having him back in the lineup is significant considering how impactful he is on the game.

Even though Hughes went pointless in his first two games back, that changed quickly in the Devils win against the Seattle Kraken. Hughes recorded two points for his 16th goal and 31st assist on the season. This was a good sign for both the team and Hughes considering not many players come back the same returning from injury, but that was certainly not the case here.

 After picking up the win against the Kraken, the Devils have a record of 26-21-4 and are in fourth place in the Metro.