Jack Hughes will be out indefinitely after suffering a dislocated shoulder, but the news isn't all bad for the New Jersey Devils. The young forward will not require surgery and has begun to rehab the injury. Hughes will be re-evaluated next week. While he will likely miss a chunk of time, there was fear that surgery could take away a huge chunk of the season. He has been moved to injured reserve for the time being, which comes with a minimum of seven days.
Hughes, 20, looked like a wholly different player in his first game of the season, scoring two goals and dominating play whenever he was on the ice. He suffered the shoulder injury in the second game, when Seattle Kraken defenseman Jeremy Lauzon sent him sprawling into the boards.
Hughes avoiding surgery is a huge win for the Devils, who are off to a 2-0 start as they try to show the rest of the Metropolitan Division that the playoffs are not out of the question.
One of the youngest teams in the league, New Jersey has just three regulars–Tomas Tatar, P.K. Subban, and Jonathan Bernier–over the age of 30. Bernier is also dealing with a lower-body injury and will not dress tonight. The team has recalled Nico Daws from the AHL to serve as backup Thursday night.
More must-reads: