J. Hughes exits Devils' 2-0 loss after collision

New Jersey Devils star center Jack Hughes exited his team's 2-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night, after a collision in the third period.

With his team trailing 2-0, Hughes and his brother, New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes, entered into the Vegas zone on a 2-on-1. As Jack Hughes neared the Golden Knights goal, his feet appeared to get tangled with Vegas forward Jack Eichel, eventually tumbling to the ice and into the boards behind the net with 1:48 left in the game.

"Real hard to see him go down. There's no update," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's going to have to be evaluated. Obviously, it didn't look good. We're going to have to take our time to know the full extent of it."

Keefe, arguing that the collision with Eichel could have been called for a tripping minor, was given a game misconduct, as the Devils fell to 2-2 on a five-game road trip that concludes Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

"It was a similar play that [Hughes] got called on earlier in the period. Not only is he injured on the play, but there's no call," he said. "I get kicked off the bench for telling the referee I felt it was 10 times worse than the one previously called on Jack."

Hughes, 23, is a former No. 1 overall pick who leads the Devils in goals (27) and points (70) this season. New Jersey has struggled offensively in the new calendar year, and any absence from their best overall player might alter its plans headed into Friday's trade deadline.

Hughes missed 20 games last season due to injury, and finished with 74 points as the Devils failed to make the postseason. The season before, he played in 78 and posted a career-high 99 points as New Jersey took the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division and advanced to the second round.

Incidentally, Eichel and Hughes were just teammates last month, skating for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off.