Jack Hughes' incredible overtime winner for the New Jersey Devils was more significant than at first glance.
In the closing minutes of overtime, Hughes took a pass from Jesper Bratt to drill home the game-winner against the Philadelphia Flyers, scoring the 10th overtime goal of his career. Per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale, "Hughes became the second player in franchise history to score 10 career overtime goals after Patrik Elias (16)."
Hughes' 10th career overtime goal is even more special since it never would have happened if it weren't for his brother, Luke. With 9:44 left in regulation, Luke Hughes fired one home to tie the game 2-2 with a helper from newcomer Luke Evangelista. The game remained at a deadlock until Jack drilled the game-winner.
Morreale also wrote that "The Devils are 8-1-0 when brothers Jack and Luke Hughes score in the same game. … Jack Hughes scored his fifth goal in a season-opening game to tie Zach Parise and Bobby Holik for the second most in franchise history behind John MacLean (seven)."
With Jack in only his age-25 season, he has an incredible chance of sitting atop the leaderboard in goals scored in a season-opening game. If he finds the net this time next year, he will have second place to himself as he closes in on MacLean.
Meanwhile, Devils fans everywhere will be pulling for Jack and Luke to score when the Devils need to tie a game or bounce back from a multi-goal deficit, given the brothers' track record.
Hockey fans will always remember Jack Hughes' game-winning goal for Team USA in the 2026 Olympics.
And Team USA Coach Mike Sullivan said it best postgame when he quipped, "He's a high stakes player. He brought his very best when the stakes were the highest."
Devils fans have been seeing Hughes notch game-winners since he first entered the league in 2019-20. Hughes has since accumulated 28 game-winners. Should he stay healthy all season, expect Hughes to notch a few more as the 2026-27 season progresses.
If fans are keeping track, Thursday night's win over the Flyers marked Hughes' 13th game-winner since the start of the 2024-25 season. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, Hughes notched 15. Not a bad number, but one he rapidly improved over the past two seasons.
Patrik Elias spent two decades with the Devils, giving him, on average, less than one overtime goal per season — roughly 0.8. With Hughes already up to 10 in only his eighth season, he can shatter Elias' record.
Hughes entered the year with 1.29 overtime goals per season. If he continued producing them at the same pace and stuck around Newark for 20 seasons, Hughes can realistically snag between 25 and 26.
Right now, it's speculative. That said, it shows off Hughes' potential and ability to rise to the occasion year after year. Of course, Hughes would have his eyes set on bringing the Stanley Cup back to New Jersey. But neither he nor the fans would complain if he broke records franchise legends set to get there.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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