New Jersey Devils star, Jack Hughes, has commented over the teams recent goal drought and hopes it can end sooner rather than later.
Jack Hughes Hopes New Jersey Devils Can End Goal Drought
The New Jersey Devils center is growing frustrated with his sides current form in front of goal, but beleives they can turn it around and replicate the form the Devils showed in the early stages of this campaign.
Currently, the New Jersey Devils are third in the Metropolitan Division and are just three points off the Carolina Hurricanes.
However, they have now lost four consecutive matches and hold a record of 2-6-3 in their last 11 games – scoring just 20 goals in the process.
Hughes is the top point scorer for the New Jersey Devils, contributing with 55 points in 49 games so far (18G+37A) but has only scored nine points in the 11-match run.
The 23-year-old commented on the recent dip in form and beleives the New Jersey Devils can turn it around in the coming weeks.
He said: “It’s frustrating but I think I’ve had some games where I’ve been able to have success, and then some where I’ve been closed off.
“That’s just the way the League goes … you get hot, you get cold, and it’s just an ongoing cycle. I don’t think I’m in a bad spot right now, but definitely, as a team, we’d like to start scoring more. It’s hard to win when you’re only scoring one or two goals a game.
If you look at our forwards, we’ve never had a problem scoring before in the past so it’s just something we have to get through and figure a way out of.”
This poor run of form for the New Jersey Devils started after a convincing win over the Carolina Hurricanes, as they went on to lose against the Hurricanes soon after, before losing to the Ottawa Senators.
The New Jersey Devils are now averaging 1.82 goals and 26.2 shots per game, which is far off the average from the first 38 games this season, where New Jersey were averaging 3.37 goals and 30.2 shots.
Hughes also revealed how the New Jersey Devils coach, Sheldon Keefe, is dealing with the issues in front of goal and what to expect going forward.
“He reminded us that we got to get back on track. We haven’t not liked our game but we just haven’t had great performances that have sort of pushed us over the edge to get us a win. He told us kind of what we need to get out of this funk and start to play some really good hockey again.”
