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The New Jersey Devils will look to continue their winning ways Tuesday night against the rival New York Rangers.
Here are three things to watch when the two sides square off:
No. 86 is the hottest player in the NHL right now and that’s not hyperbole. He has 22 points over his last 11 games, pacing the entire league.
Erik Karlsson (18), Connor McDavid (18), and Nikita Kucherov (18) are the only players within four points over that span.
No player has recorded more shots on goal while only Jason Robertson has bested Jack in the scoring chance department.
Hughes is doing anything and everything he wants right now. He is dissecting teams in transition, he is terrorizing goaltenders on breakaways, and he’s more than happy to carry the puck on a string in the offensive zone and create chance after chance when the quick-strike opportunity isn’t there.
He’s not going to produce two points per game forever, of course, but there’s no reason to expect him to slow down tonight.
Hughes has hit the scoresheet in 11 consecutive games against New York and generated multiple points in five straight. Hell, he recorded 3+ points in four of those five.
The Rangers struggle to slow him down at the best of times, and he’s as in-form as anybody in the league. Expect another productive, flashy performance from Hughes.
Lenni Hameenaho has gone painfully quiet of late. He’s not generating a ton of chances, he’s not creating much for others, and there’s been next to no production.
Of the 16 Devils to log 92+ minutes since Luke Hughes returned to the lineup, Hameenaho is the only one who hasn’t recorded multiple 5-on-5 points.
Paul Cotter has done it. Johnathan Kovacevic has done it. Maxim Tysplakov (in less ice) has done it. On it goes.
Not to mention, Hameenaho has posted the lowest xGF% of any regular on the team in that span. It’s not great.
Hameenaho has never played as many regular season games as he will this year and it’s his first year in North America. I’m willing to cut him some slack.
It’d be nice if he could show a pulse, though, and give the team an occasional glimpse that the player who provided a real spark a few months ago is still in there.