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New Jersey Devils boss Lindy Ruff held Jack Hughes' defensive short plays accountable for his performance in the Devils' 5-3 loss to the Flames at the Prudential Center on Thursday.
Hughes returned to the Devils roster for the first time since Jan. 5, missing 11 games due to an upper body injury. Ruff said that on a couple of defensive-zone plays, Jack Hughes needs to be more responsible.
As Hughes was coming back and didn't have much practice with the team, Ruff reckons that might have affected his performance. Ruff acknowledged that Hughes had good energy, but there were instances where he wasn't on top of his defensive responsibilities (via senior NHL writer Mike Morreale on X):
"On a couple of defensive-zone plays, he has to be more responsible. He's just coming back in. He really didn't practice with us. That probably that hurt him. I thought his energy was good. Some of his responsibilities, he was a little off."
The New Jersey Devils are sixth in the Metro Division and 20th overall in the standings with 53 points. They're six points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the East Wild card.
The Devils are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games and hope to improve that record in the coming fixture starting with a road trip to PNC Arena to face one of their fierce rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
How has Jack Hughes fared this season?
Despite being out for 11 games, Hughes has remained one of the leading scorers for the Devils, with 45 points through 15 goals and 30 assists in 33 games. Only Jesper Bratt (55 points) has more points than Hughes for the Devils this season.
Jack Hughes was the No. 1 overall pick for the Devils in the 2019 NHL draft. He has been with New Jersey for the last five seasons. Overall, the 22-year-old forward has racked up 252 points through 102 goals and 150 assists.
