ST. LOUIS -- Jack Hughes left with an upper-body injury in the first period of the New Jersey Devils' 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Friday.
Coach Lindy Ruff had no update on the center after the game and said Hughes would be evaluated Saturday.
Hughes crashed shoulder first into the end boards at 9:56. He split two defenders and carried the puck into the slot before taking a shot that was stopped by Jordan Binnington. Hughes then lost his balance and slid into the boards.
He got up on his own and skated to the bench, then was part of the Devils power play that began at 10:50 but soon left the ice for good. He missed the final 9:05 of the first and all of the second period before New Jersey announced he would not return.
Hughes had one shot on goal in 3:55 of ice time. He leads the NHL with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 10 games.
"It’s tough," Devils forward Curtis Lazar said. "You look at the start he's had, I’m not going to lie, we were a little dejected when it happened. But, again, you've got to kind of turn the page when you realize he’s not coming back and say, 'All right, next man up.'"
New Jersey was already without center and captain Nico Hischier (upper body), forward Tomas Nosek (lower body) and defenseman Colin Miller (lower body), who are not on the four-game road trip that continues at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and ends at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
"We have a lot of skill in this room," Lazar said. "We're getting tested early here, but I have full belief in this dressing room."
