How Did the Devils Get So Fast, So Fast?
Jack Hughes thought he had it pretty good as a professional hockey player. The No. 1 draft pick in 2019, Hughes was living his best life over the ensuing four seasons, skating for the Devils and emerging as a superstar in the N.H.L.
Then he got to the postseason.
“I used to think the regular season in the N.H.L. was a blast,” he beamed. “It doesn’t even come close to the playoffs.”
Hughes and his Devils teammates were soaring Monday night in Newark following their 4-0 win over the Rangers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series. They bumped off their physically larger and more experienced neighbors and sent a message that seems to have been delivered a year or two ahead of schedule.
The Devils, who had not won a playoff series since 2012, won only 27 games last season as they continued to rebuild under Tom Fitzgerald, their general manager since 2020. They had added top-end draft picks, like Hughes and Nico Hischier, the first overall pick in 2017, made promising trades and brought in key free agents.
Source: The New York Times
