Devils Work Ahead of Homestand | NOTEBOOK

The Devils are practicing at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House inside Prudential Center on Monday afternoon before a two-week, seven-game homestand. 

Stay tuned to the notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

Practice Info

Jack Hughes (rest) was the only player absent from the team's practice session. They used the following workflow...

Return of the Luke

Devils defenseman Luke Hughes returned to the lineup on Saturday at St. Louis, playing for the first time since Jan. 19.

“I was really excited to play hockey,” he said. “It was just fun being out there and competing again. I just really excited to be back.”

Hughes suffered an injury at Calgary. He opted to rehab the injury with the intent to return to play, which is exactly what he did to help the Devils earn a 3-1 win against the Blues.

“It is what it is. It’s part of the game obviously,” he said of the injury. “It’s no fun being out. You want to be out there competing and trying to help your team win. I’m just glad that I’m able to do that right now.”

Hughes’ impact was immediate. He picked up an assist on the team’s opening goal – scored by Timo Meier – and his presence was felt at both ends of the ice.

“You could see at different times his ability to take two or three strides and jump in and give us a different look offensively,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I think that will pay off for us.”

Hughes, 22, still needs to improve his conditioning, but that will come with more game action.

“A couple time he got stuck out there a little bit and you could see the conditioning getting the better of him a little bit,” Keefe said. “That’s all a part of it, coming back. Good for him, most importantly getting through the game healthy. The more he does that he’ll gain more and more confidence in his body and his conditioning.”

Golden Tour

Luke Hughes woke up at 6:50 a.m. on the Sunday of the Gold Medal Game between the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. He watched the game unfold with his Devils teammates.

“It was really stressful,” he admitted with a smile. “I felt bad for everybody’s parents, mid-50s, 60-year-old people watching that game and the stress on them.”

In the end, it was his brother that secured the gold medal for the Americans. It will be a signature goal of Jack Hughes’ career and a Golden Goal for the ages. Despite the goal, Jack is still Jack.

“I don’t think one goal changes you,” Luke said. “It’s more about the team and USA Hockey and what the team accomplished. Obviously, it was one goal. But such a great effort by all 20 guys on that team. I think he was just happy to be a part of it.”

Since that time, Jack has been on a whirlwind tour from the Pat McAfee Show to Saturday Night Live to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

“It’s been really fun to watch,” Luke said. “A lot of travel for those guys. It’s such an honor and such a privilege to watch them and learn from them.

“It was really fun to watch (SNL). It’s been 50-plus years. To hang out and be behind the scenes watching that was pretty special and pretty cool.”

The Hughes family left the Olympics with three gold medals in hockey. Jack and Quinn with the men’s team and their mother Ellen, a development coach, with the women’s team.

“To see them bring three medals home, my mom and both of my brothers, is unbelievable for my family,” Luke said, “but also unbelievable for USA hockey and our country.”

He Said It: 

Keefe on the 7-game homestand: "It’s nice to be at home. Maybe you don’t like to be at home quite as long. It’s a bit of an anomaly in the schedule. We’d like to break it up. But coming off the last little trip and not playing many home games with the break, it’ll be good to play here."

Devils Sign Melovsky

New Jersey has added Matyas Melovsky to the fold with a two-year contract. 

Full details here.