“Guess who just got back today…Them wild-eyed boys that had been away” – Thin Lizzy

Sunday night, at Prudential Center, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier and Arseny Gritsyuk made their highly anticipated returns for the New Jersey Devils while hosting the Buffalo Sabres. The trio of returning Devils will unquestionably boost New Jersey’s level of play. Even though the Garden Staters lost this game 3-1, it’s always good for a team to get back players of this caliber.

Jake Allen drew the start in net for New Jersey and was opposed by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who started for the Sabres. While Allen allowed just two goals, Luukkonen stole the show in the first and third periods, making a handful of strong saves en route to helping the Sabres net their first six-game winning streak since December of 2022. 

Before the game, former Devils and current Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff addressed Hughes’ return by telling the media, “We know we’re gonna have to defend one heck of a player. I mean, obviously, I’ve got a lot of respect for Jack and I know it’s a disappointing injury he suffered, but he’s one of the best skaters in the game, best lateral movement and we’re gonna have to make sure that we don’t let him get away from us.” Of course, Ruff knows Hughes quite well, having been his coach in New Jersey for three-and-a-half seasons.

The Devils had been waiting for Hughes to return from his “freak injury” for several weeks. As it turned out, he made it back earlier than expected. Initially, Hughes was expected to miss two months after having surgery to fix his “non-hockey injury.” He ended up missing 18 games. 

“It was definitely fun to be on the ice and be practicing so that was a good start for me,” Hughes told the media after New Jersey’s morning skate. “It’s hard to say (if this was the plan all along). Initially, I just listened to the doctors and see what they had to say…It was a freak accident that was just a freak thing, so I’m glad it wasn’t, like, season-ending or anything like that. It was good news for what I got. So, (I’m) glad I’m back now and feeling better.”

“He wouldn’t be playing if he wasn’t good to go,” Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale after the team’s morning skate. “I was surprised as anybody, quite honestly, that it’s come this quickly to the point that even (Saturday) I went on the ice and skated with him myself just to see it and get a sense of exactly where he’s at…He feels very confident and comfortable in going and I was satisfied with what I saw, too, that he’s in a good place and we’re excited to have him.”

That excitement is not limited to Keefe. The trio’s teammates are also, obviously, excited to have their pals back. After all, it wasn’t easy for the Devils while they were at less than full strength.

“I think we’re digging in, as we should,” Captain Nico Hischier told Devils’ team digital reporter Amanda Stein. “We’re talking a lot about having a good process. In every game, we stayed in the fight and battled hard. Sometimes at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for…We found ways to win. Obviously, that helps, but from my perspective, we’re just really working hard, and that’s important.”

“It’s obviously a good sight,” Hischier continued. “We’re very happy to have them back…We’re talking about guys coming into the lineup, and at the same time, they have to dig in as everybody else does. I know they’re aware of that…I know they know what they’re doing and they can add to our team, and that’s why we’re very happy to have them back and excited to get going here.”

With all of that being said, it should come as no surprise that 8:51 into the first period against Buffalo, Jack Hughes scored on a snap-shot from the left face-off dot to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. 

“For a guy like me, watching these games (injured) sucks,” Hughes said after the game. “To get back out there, personally, I’m just grateful I was able to have a chance to get back out there.”

New Jersey was granted a power-play with 11.7 seconds left in the first period after Zach Benson high-sticked Meier. The Devils’ man-advantage carried over into the second period and did not generate a goal or a shot on goal. Then, 38 seconds after Benson exited the penalty box, Josh Norris managed to poke the loose puck through Allen’s pads to tie the game 1-1.

The Devils spent much of the middle period on their heels, allowing Buffalo to take control of the game. Then, with 3:55 left in the second period, Zach Benson scored on a shot from in tight on Allen to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead.

“(I think we) played a little slower (in the second period),” Jesper Bratt explained. “Couple turnovers in the second there that kind of tilted the ice a little bit. We know they’re a fast transition team. They want to play a transition game and I think, in the first period, we did a pretty good job of making them defend. I think, by the second period there, we kind of started playing a little slower. We had some turnovers. We didn’t really win the battles and that’s why we spent a little more time in our zone.”

The Garden Staters put forth a better effort in the third period, but were unable to solve Luukkonen. Peyton Krebs salted the game away with an empty net goal to hand the Devils a 3-1 loss. 

“I just saw, in all areas, we just didn’t have the necessary competitiveness and urgency and all that kind of stuff and purpose,” Keefe said after the game. “Everything we talk about, we just didn’t have it. And I thought, for really good chunks of the first period, I thought we had it. I thought we had a lot of high-danger chances in the first period; should have scored more than we did. We allowed them to hang around in the game. I don’t know if we felt it was gonna be easy or something like that after that. But that’s the way that it looked and how we performed in the second, it cost us.”

Next up is a quick trip to Long Island to play the Islanders, Tuesday night at UBS Arena and then comes the Christmas Break before New Jersey hosts the Capitals next Saturday.