Jack Hughes Scores Twice as Devils Top Oilers in Shootout

Jack Hughes scored twice and added an assist, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in a shootout Tuesday night at Prudential Center. Arseny Gritsyuk won it in the shootout, and Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves to pick up the win in his first home start of the season.

That's a statement for a Devils team that's starting to look legit. New Jersey's won two straight and five of its last six, and it just snapped a three-game Oilers winning streak against a team that came in with one of the best records in the league.

Jack Hughes Gets the "USA!" Treatment

The building knew exactly what it was doing. After Hughes scored his first goal, the crowd broke into "USA! USA!" chants, a nod to his overtime winner against Canada that won the Americans Olympic gold. Hellebuyck, who was in net for that U.S. team in Milan, was making just his third start for the Devils since they traded for him.

So yeah, Newark had a little Olympic reunion going. Hughes did his part with two goals and a helper, and Connor Brown chipped in a goal against the Oilers, the team he helped reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and '25. You don't think he circled this one?

McDavid Keeps the Assist Streak Alive

Edmonton didn't leave empty-handed. Connor McDavid picked up his league-leading 31st assist, stretching his NHL record season-opening assist streak to 16 games. Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers.

Nugent-Hopkins had a night of his own, too. He skated in his 1,038th regular-season game, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Kevin Lowe for the most in Oilers history, and his teammates wore T-shirts with the number and a caricature of him on it. That's a pretty great way to honor a guy who's been through every era of this franchise.

Tristan Jarry finished with 31 saves for Edmonton, but his shutout streak ended after more than seven periods without allowing a goal. Facing this Devils attack, that streak was always going to be tested.

What's Next for Both Teams

The Oilers took a hit beyond the result. Coach Mike Babcock said forward Isaac Howard will miss a couple of weeks with a left knee injury, though it's not considered a long-term issue. Edmonton's now 11-2-3 and opens a four-game homestand Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks.

New Jersey improves to 10-5-0 and hosts the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. If Hellebuyck keeps settling in and Hughes keeps playing like this, the Devils are going to be a problem in the East.

For McDavid, the streak's the thing to watch. Sixteen straight games with an assist to open a season is already an NHL record, and every night he extends it, the number gets a little more ridiculous.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on McDavid assists Thursday against Anaheim. He's recorded one in all 16 games this season and leads the league with 31.