For a January game, Thursday’s game between the New Jersey Devils and the Nashville Predators was as close to a must-win as they come considering the standings. Thanks to great play from Jacob Markstrom (.931 save percentage) and timely goals from their stars, the Devils pulled away a 3-2 victory in extra time.
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Jack Hughes leaves with an injury
Three minutes and fifteen seconds into the opening frame, Jack Hughes picked up his second shift of the match. There was no indication that anything was wrong with him, but he still went into the tunnel after 55 seconds on the ice.
Just over three minutes later he reappeared and jumped the boards for the next shift in his line. After 42 seconds he went back into the tunnel and did not return for the rest of the match.
After the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe said: “[Jack] I’ve made some adjustments to the game, but I think the update would simply be that we don’t believe it’s a serious thing at the moment in terms of length and time. As for his availability for the road trip, we will determine that tomorrow.”
He also classified the injury as lower body. Hughes has missed 103 of 506 games in his career – just over 20%. The Devils and their fans will hope this doesn’t turn into a 104+.
Stars come to life
Needless to say, things haven’t always been smooth sailing for the Devils’ top players this season. Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier are all on course for fewer points than in 2024-2025.
But tonight, with their star forward, both Bratt and Hischier took a big step forward. Firstly, Bratt – who has struggled to finish the season (minus 4.7 goals scored above expectations) – came through with extreme patience as he waited for goalkeeper Justus Annunen to tie the game at two.
Then, with a crucial second point up for grabs, Hischier fired a deadly shot from 13.9 meters out, perfectly placed past Annunen for the huge win. “I think it’s definitely a risky shot, but I kind of saw that the D wasn’t really watching me, and I took the opportunity,” Hischier said after the game. “Luckily he went in. Otherwise I don’t think the coach would be happy at all.”
#NJDevils HC Sheldon Keefe with a Chel reference!
“I felt like it [Nico] held the button for a long time while charging. pic.twitter.com/wonyJ33KuG
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) January 30, 2026
Winning goalkeeper Jacob Markstrom added: “I feel like you can see the whole game [Nico’s] wants to get on the ice. He wants it every shift.”
Dougie Hamilton Giveth, Dougie Hamilton Taketh
Dougie Hamilton’s goal in the second period to give the Devils a 2-1 lead extended his point streak to ten games (12 points). That’s the longest active streak in the entire NHL and was tied with Jakob Chychrun for the longest time by a defender this season.
In fact, he would need points in his next two games alone to tie the franchise record set by Scott Stevens in 12 consecutive games in 1994. However, the increased production in terms of points is only a small part of the story.
Over the past few games, Hamilton has caused a host of defensive lapses that have led to goals conceded. On Sunday in Seattle, their winning goal was the result of Hamilton’s accident. Then two of Winnipeg’s four goals on Tuesday could be aimed at Hamilton – another loss for the Devils.
Not long after his goal, an ill-advised and weak clearing attempt by Hamilton in the middle of the ice led to the equalizer for Nashville.
Filip Forsberg extends his #Pres record of reaching 20 goals in a season for the 10th time. Nashville in front 2-1 in New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/0vA7QxizEB
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) January 30, 2026
Is this increased point production from Hamilton worth the defensive sacrifices? Well, through these 10 games, he’s a plus-1. Before that he was minus-6.
During this streak, the odds of danger are 29-28 in favor of the opposition with Hamilton on the ice. Sometimes it will work. Other times that won’t be the case. But it’s probably better than the alternative of Hamilton not scoring much at all; he has increased his scoring rate by over 420%.
Come on
The Devils – now 28-24-2 – will look to make it a second straight win on Saturday as they head to Ottawa to take on the Senators (7:00 PM EST).
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