Overview
- The team said Hughes is out with a non‑hockey hand injury and is undergoing evaluation, with updates to come.
- Multiple reports indicate he slipped and cut his hand during a team dinner in what sources described as a fluke or freak accident.
- He is not expected to play Saturday against the Capitals, and no timetable for his return has been set.
- New Jersey placed Connor Brown on injured reserve and recalled Shane Lachance from AHL Utica, with Lachance set to join the team in Washington.
- Hughes leads the Devils with 10 goals and 20 points in 17 games as the Metropolitan Division leaders navigate a long injury list that includes Cody Glass, Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton and Johnathan Kovacevic; longer‑term implications, including Olympic availability, remain uncertain.