Dynamic young center Jack Hughes is on the cusp of surpassing a long-held New Jersey Devils record.
On Thursday, Hughes scored two goals and dished out two assists, posting a four-point night in the Devils’ 8-1 blowout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hughes has 95 points on the season, one shy of the Devils’ single-season mark set by Patrik Elias during the 2000-01 season.
Following Thursday’s big outing, Hughes sounded more motivated than ever to etch his name in the Devils’ record books when asked about the pursuit.
“I want to break that bad boy, so we’re not going to sit just on that,” Hughes told MSG’s Erika Wachter. “I want that record.”
Hughes has three games left to tie or break the mark, with contests remaining against the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals.
After posting 108 combined points over his first three seasons in the NHL, Hughes has already crushed his previous career highs in goals (42), assists (53) and points (95) through 75 games.
The 21-year-old has registered a least a point in seven out of the last eight games for New Jersey, tallying five goals and nine assists over that stretch.
Meanwhile, the Devils clinched their 50th win of the 2022-23 campaign, only one win away from tying the franchise record set by the 2008-09 Devils. The win improved New Jersey to 50-21-8, good enough for the third-best record in the NHL behind only the Carolina Hurricanes (50-19-9) and Bruins (61-12-5).
