New Jersey Devils Center Jack Hughes can’t stop breaking records. The young star helped lead the Devils deep into the playoffs last year, falling just short of a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. This year, he’s off to another fast start with yet another franchise record to add to his belt.
On Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens, Hughes recorded four assists, bringing his points on the season up to 14 total (4 goals, 10 assists). All 10 of his assists during this stretch have been primary.
With 14 total points in the first five games of the season, Hughes has catapulted himself to the top of the list for Devils’ players. He surpassed John MacLean, who scored 10 points for the Devils in the first five games of the 1988-89 season. All time, Hughes sits only below two players: Wayne Gretzky, who scored 15 in the first five games of the 1983-84 season and Mario Lemieux, who scored 17 in the 1992-93 season.
With 4 assists tonight, Jack Hughes is the first player with at least 14 points in a team’s first 5 games of a season since Mario Lemieux had 17 in 1992-93. pic.twitter.com/WunQQTGbjG
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 25, 2023
Hughes, along with Timo Meier and Captain Nico Hischier, lead a strong Devils team into the 2023-24 season, who have started out the year with a 3-1-1 record. Though Hughes and the team have seen success, Hischier is off to a slower-than-usual start. The Center went without a point in the team’s first four games and an early exit last Friday due to a minor injury. However, he bounced back on Tuesday, scoring the game-winning goal during a power play.
The Devils remain playoff favorites for the season, but if Hughes continues at this rate, fans seem to think there’s a good possibility that the Cup will come back to New Jersey for the first time since 2003.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
