New Jersey Devils assistant captain Jack Hughes became compelled from Sunday night’s game in opposition to the Vegas Golden Knights after he fell awkwardly into the boards late in the third period at the back of the Vegas net.

He got twisted up with Jack Eichel, though he appeared to take the brunt of the impact with the boards. Eichel did make certain to check on his former Team USA teammate at once in a while.

While making his way off the ice, Hughes appeared to be favoring his right arm.

#NJDevils Jack Hughes down the tunnel after crashing into the end wall 😬 pic.twitter.com/9GHvOHDh6s

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) March 3, 2025

Head coach Sheldon Keefe, who became ejected from the competition after arguing the non-penalty name with the referees, didn’t have any optimistic-sounding updates for Hughes’ condition, via Sportsnet.

“Real hard to see him go down,” Keefe stated. “There’s no update. He’s going to have to be evaluated. Obviously, it didn’t appear good. We’re going to must take our time to recognize the entire extent of it.”

The Devils are next in motion on Tuesday at American Airlines Center in Dallas against the Dallas Stars; puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM EST.

If Hughes is forced to miss big time with his injury, it might be a major blow to the Devils and their chances to move on a prolonged run within the postseason. With 27 goals and 43 assists, Hughes leads the Devils with 70 points and is on pace to attain at least 94 total points.

Jack Hughes, assistant captain of  New Jersey Devils has been limited by injuries in recent years

Thanks to injuries, Jack Hughes has been confined to 62 and 61 games in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, respectively. He missed multiple games last season due to an arm injury, which changed into a major aspect in their failure to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Devils, they’re dropping another top player just as one came again into the lineup from injury; goaltender Jacob Markstrom made his return to game action on Sunday night for the first time since late January.