Lucky Devils fan catches Hughes' stick after game-winning goal

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes had already given New Jersey Devils fans the perfect ending in the season-opener on Thursday. Then he gave one of them his stick.

Hughes scored the overtime winner with 1:37 remaining to give the Devils a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, then celebrated by flinging his stick over the glass and into the stands, where a fan from North Caldwell, New Jersey, named Zach made the catch of the night.

No word on Zach's previous experience fielding flying hockey equipment, but he appeared ready for the moment. Wearing a 'Jack Hughes' USA jersey, he secured the souvenir and celebrated as if he had scored the goal himself.

For Hughes, the stick toss marked the return of a celebration that Devils fans have seen before, just not recently enough. He famously did this exact celebration once before in his career, scoring the overtime winner in a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 15, 2021.

“Actually, it’s been a long time, right?” Hughes said when asked if he had been waiting to send another stick into the crowd. “So fun to do that again.”

Hughes didn't exactly pick out Zach before the throw, however. He simply launched it and hoped for the best.

“In the aftermath, I saw he caught it,” Hughes said. “But, I mean, you chuck it up there, you don’t know who’s gonna get it. But he looked pretty pumped when that went to him.”

That may be underselling the reaction. Most fans leave a game with a souvenir T-shirt, puck or photo. Zach left with the stick used by one of the NHL’s most dynamic players to beat a Metropolitan Division rival in OT. 

Not bad for a Thursday night.

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe did not see Hughes' airborne equipment demonstration because he was watching a replay of the winner.

“I missed that,” Keefe said. “I was kind of caught up in it myself, but I guess that’s a bit of a signature.”

Keefe was more focused on the play itself, which began in New Jersey’s end before Hughes and the Devils found enough energy to turn loose.

“We weren’t quite sure if (Hughes and Jesper Bratt ) were going to have the legs to separate and still get a scoring chance from our own end all the way down, and clearly they did,” Keefe said. “So, great finish.”

Hughes called it a “good first win” and praised the crowd, but nobody in the building had a better night than Zach. The Devils got two points, Hughes got the winner and Zach took home a stick.