NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes will return from a finger injury for the New Jersey Devils against the Buffalo Sabres at Prudential Center on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, MSG-B).
Hughes, who missed 18 games, made a surprise appearance at the morning skate and later confirmed he would be back in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 12. New Jersey’s top center had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 17 games before it announced on Nov. 15 that Hughes had surgery for what was described as a non-hockey injury. He was expected to miss two months.
"It was definitely fun to be on the ice and be practicing so that was a good start for me," Hughes said. "It's hard to say (if this was the plan all along). Initially, I just listened to the doctors and see what they had to say.
“It was a freak accident that was just a freak thing, so I'm glad it wasn't, like, season-ending or anything like that. It was good news for what I got. So, [I’m] glad I'm back now and feeling better."
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe doesn't think there will be any limitations placed on his star center.
"The only challenge would be the fact that he hasn't played (in a while) and hasn't practiced with our group," Keefe said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be playing if he wasn't good to go. I was surprised as anybody, quite honestly, that it's come this quickly to the point that even [Saturday] I went on the ice and skated with him myself just to just to see it and get a sense of exactly where he's at.
"He feels very confident and comfortable in going and I was satisfied with what I saw, too, that he's in a good place and we're excited to have him."
In addition to Hughes, the Devils (20-14-1) will get forwards Timo Meier and Arseny Gritsyuk back in the lineup. With Hughes and Gritsyuk being activated from injured reserve, New Jersey reassigned forward Nathan Légaré to Utica of the American Hockey League.
Meier, who has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 30 games, will play after missing five for personal reasons due to a family health matter. Gritsyuk returns after missing four games with an upper-body injury; he has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 31 games.
"It's obviously a good sight," Devils captain Nico Hischier said. "We're very happy to have them back, but our mindset can change still. We're talking about guys coming into the lineup, and at the same time they have to dig in as everybody else does. I know they're aware of that.
“I know they know what they're doing and they can add to our team, and that's why we're very happy to have them back and excited to get going here."
New Jersey (20-14-1) enters its game Sunday fifth in the Metropolitan Division. It went 8-10-0 without Hughes.
"I mean, our team held it down and we're still in a good spot, so there's lot of hockey that will be played," Hughes said. "We're not the only team going through injury stuff; I think every team in the League's got a ton of injuries happening right now. It was great to get (defenseman Brett) Pesce back (on Dec. 17 after missing 24 games to injury).
"That's just the way the League goes, right? Teams get injured and lose guys and other people have to step up, so our group did a good job."
