Jack Hughes is still being evaluated for a lower-body injury sustained in the New Jersey Devils’ 3-2 overtime win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
"In the next little bit, he’s going to get some imaging and get a better idea of what’s happening,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Friday. “Until we have those results we won’t know his status in terms of travel and the situation going forward.”
Hughes, who is on the Team USA roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, sustained the injury after playing three shifts totaling 2:27 in the first period. The 24-year-old center left the game with a trainer at 8:27 of the first following a 56-second shift.
New Jersey plays three more games prior to the NHL Olympic break, including at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS2, MSG).
Team USA is schedule to play its first game in Milan against Latvia on Feb. 12 (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, SN, CBC).
"As I said [Thursday], the sense is it's not anything serious,” Keefe said. “We just have to make sure and that’s what he’s doing right now."
After Hughes left the game Thursday, the Devils had just two natural centers in the lineup in Nico Hischier and Luke Glendening. Center Cody Glass, who will travel to Ottawa and is questionable to return Saturday, missed the game against Nashville because of a lower-body injury.
The Devils (28-24-2) enter Friday nine points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"We believe with proper structure and process, we're going to be in every game and give ourselves an opportunity to get points in every game," Keefe said. "We know we put ourselves in a tough spot here but we've shown signs of coming back and getting some very valuable points here in the last while to remain in the fight and the effort [on Thursday] reflected the belief the group has."
Hughes missed 18 games from Nov. 15-Dec. 19 because of a hand injury, the Devils going 8-10-0 in his absence. He has 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in 36 games this season, including five points (one goal, four assists) in his past four games.
The No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft has played more than 62 regular-season games once in his NHL career, when he scored 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) in 78 games and the Devils reached the Eastern Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022-23.
He missed 25 games in 2024-25, including all five playoff games, after having shoulder surgery on March 5. He was sidelined twice in 2023-24 totaling 16 games before it was announced April 9, 2024, he would miss the final four regular-season games to get shoulder surgery. In his second NHL season, Hughes was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated left shoulder and missed 17 games.
