Overview
- The Devils said Hughes is out with a non-hockey hand injury and is being evaluated.
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the hand was cut in a slip at a team dinner, a fluke incident with specifics still unconfirmed.
- Hughes is not expected to play Saturday in Washington, and the team has not announced a return timeline.
- New Jersey’s depth is strained by multiple injuries; the club placed Connor Brown on injured reserve and recalled Shane Lachance, with other absences including Cody Glass, Zack MacEwen, Evgenii Dadonov, Dougie Hamilton and Johnathan Kovacevic.
- Hughes led New Jersey with 20 points (10 goals) in 17 games as the Devils topped the Metropolitan Division, heightening the impact of his absence.