NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Devils All-Star Jack Hughes, injured in Friday’s victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, did not play in Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
There is still no definitive answer on Hughes’ status, and in his pregame media availability, New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said the team is unsure how much time he’ll miss. Ruff added that the evaluation process for the upper-body injury is still ongoing.
“Without Jack, we know we have to play a certain way to enable us to win hockey games and continue to move up,” Ruff said.
That didn’t happen on Saturday, as the Devils saw a late rally put to rest with a Dakota Joshua empty-net goal, sealing the win for the Canucks.
Hughes has 15 goals this season on 138 shots and leads New Jersey with 45 points in 32 games.
But his absence was felt, and it also prevented the Prudential Center crowd from seeing all three Hughes brothers play. New Jersey’s Luke Hughes is a rookie defenseman and Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes is the Canucks’ captain.
All three played in the same game for the first time on Dec. 5, when New Jersey won 6-5 in what was labeled “The Hughes Bowl” in Vancouver.
On Saturday, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson stole the show, with each scoring twice for the Canucks, while Quinn Hughes added three assists. Conor Garland also scored on a wraparound shot just before the end of the second period, and Thatcher Demko made 21 saves in his 100th career NHL win.
After the loss, Ruff said defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler broke his foot early in the second period. New Jersey lost defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a pectoral injury on Dec. 1. They started the season as the Devils No. 1 defensive pair.
Forward Graeme Clarke, called up from the Devils’ AHL affiliate earlier in the week, filled Jack Hughes’ open roster spot for New Jersey and made his NHL debut in the loss. He finished with 15 shifts, covering 9:32 time on the ice.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
