Devils Postgame: Jack Hughes Dazzles, Propels Imperfect 5-3 Win Over Canadiens

NEWARK — Thank goodness for Jack Hughes. The New Jersey Devils hosted the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at the Prudential Center and were anything but perfect.

Fortunately, the Devils superstar had a breakout game in which he appeared to be more like his dominant self, scoring a goal and two assists which propelled the Devils to victory over the Canadiens.

Devils Recap

Jack Hughes took advantage of Juraj Slafkovsky, who broke his stick early in the first, and dished Jesper Bratt a pretty tap-in goal to give the Devils an early 1-0 lead. Hughes continued feeding his linemates in the first period, this time Ondrej Palat in a high danger area, and he picked a corner to double the Devils’ lead.

Alex Newhook cut the Canadiens’ deficit in half on a Jonas Siegenthaler giveaway. However, Siegethaler made up for it shortly after, scoring a goal of his own to make it a 3-1 game in the second period. Yet, Brenden Gallagher struck back, collecting a rebound in the Devils’ slot and bringing the Habs back within one goal.

Hughes was sprung for a semi-breakaway in the third period and didn’t miss, yet Newhook scored his second goal of the game to keep things close at 4-3. With the Canadiens net empty, Bratt scored an empty net goal to seal the 5-3 victory and collect his second tuck.

Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves on 24 shots, securing his sixth win of the season.

Takeaways

Explosive Jack is Back

It took until Game 16 of the regular season, but Jack Hughes finally looks like himself again.

The Devils superstar forward displayed the explosive nature that saw him soar to 99 points two seasons ago, and get off to the hot start he did in 2023-24 before he suffered injury.

The Devils scored twice in the first period, solely due to the playmaking ability by Hughes. He made the Canadiens pay for a broken stick, handling the puck with authority through the slot and fed Jesper Bratt on Montembeault’s back door for an easy tap-in goal.

Later, he won a puck battle below the Canadiens goal line and found Ondrej Palat in the slot, who deposited his second goal of the season.

The scoresheet isn’t the only indicator that Hughes is feeling like himself again. Jack’s speed, explosiveness on his skates, and ability to change direction on his edges while stick handling through defenders was on full display Thursday night.

In the first period alone, Hughes created six of the Devils’ eight scoring chances all on his own and danced around Habs defenders with ease.

It was certainly an encouraging sign for the Devils to see Hughes regain the superstar form. Especially given the fact that New Jersey has found was to win games without needing him to be his dominant self. If Jack keeps this up, wins should be even easier to come by now.

Consistency Issues

See, this is why having Hughes play the way he did Thursday night is so important. On nights where the Devils don’t play their best, he pulled them over the finish line for two points.

The Devils started well in the opening frame when they took a 2-0 lead.

However, they let off the gas and began to turn the puck over and lose some puck battles in the ensuing 40 minutes.

Jonas Siegenthaler made up for it later with a goal of his own, but an errant pass in the middle of the neutral zone turned into a Canadiens goal which cut the Devils’ lead in half. Then, a missed coverage in the Devils’ slot allowed Brenden Gallagher to deposit a rebound at the top of Markstrom‘s crease, again, cutting another Devils’ lead. Finally, a bad line change allowed Newhook to slip into the offensive zone and deposit his second goal of the game.

It’s the small mistakes that lead to big consequences. The Devils are a skilled enough team to occasionally outscore their issues, but they need to tighten up the small parts of their game to remain in the win column consistently.

Penalty Kill

Fortunately, the Devils’ penalty kill is still one of their best assets.

The Canadiens didn’t get all that many man advantages. However, in the two power plays they were awarded, the Devils only allowed one shot through to Markstrom, which he promptly turned aside.

The penalty kill units remain aggressive, limiting chances to the perimeter while pressuring the puck and sending it out of the zone.

It was a perfect 2/2 on Thursday.

READ MORE: Devils Reassign High Value Defenseman to AHL Club

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