The New Jersey Devils announced that forward Jack Hughes is day-to-day with a lower body injury.
⚠️ Jack Hughes will NOT play against the Rangers today. #NJDevils rookie listed as day-to-day, lower body.
He will miss a game for the first time in his NHL career.
Hughes blocked a shot versus MTL & did not participate in practice yesterday
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 30, 2019
Jack Hughes Out For New Jersey
The first overall pick from the 2019 NHL Draft will miss his first career game as the Devils battle the New York Rangers. Hughes blocked a shot versus the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday evening. While he did finish the game, Hughes did not participate in practice on Friday. He skated prior by himself on Saturday morning, but the team determined he could not go.
It has been a tough season for both the Devils and Hughes. Coming into the season many people tagged Hughes as a Calder Trophy winner as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. Through 24 games Hughes has 11 points (four goals and seven assists). It has been tough for the rookie to get going playing with different line-mates constantly.
Many were looking forward to today’s game as Hughes was going up against Kaapo Kakko, who was chosen by the Rangers second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. In their first meeting which the Devils won 5-2, Hughes got his first career NHL point.
Going Forward
With Hughes out of the lineup, Kevin Rooney will return to the lineup. Rooney has been activated from injured reserve after missing the last seven games with an upper-body injury he sustained against the Ottawa Senators on November 13, 2019. Rooney is centring a line of Jesper Boqvist and Wayne Simmonds. That is where Hughes was slotted against the Canadiens. However, the projected lineup has Rooney in between Miles Wood and Jesper Bratt. While Pavel Zacha centring Simmonds and Boqvist.
This is a tough blow to the Devils offence that is still trying to find its way. Hughes found success playing with Kyle Palmieri and Taylor Hall when Nico Hischier was out of the lineup. Though he has not been picking up, Hughes has been using his speed to gain the zone. Hopefully, Hughes is not out of the lineup too long so he can back in there and produce again.
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