Jack Hughes went down midway through the first period at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday after Justin Hryckowian‘s stick caught him in the face. The Dallas forward was being hit by Jesper Bratt at the time and had lost his balance, so there was nothing deliberate about it.
Hughes spat a tooth out onto the ice, got up, and skated to the bench, without much fuss.
Then came the part everybody is sharing. The referee went over, picked the tooth up off the ice and handed it back to its owner.
Hughes disappeared down the tunnel for repairs and came back out for the second period with a full face shield bolted to his helmet. He then set up a goal and scored one himself.
Jack Hughes against Dallas:
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Teeth lost | 1 |
How many teeth has Jack Hughes lost?
February is the one everybody remembers. A high stick from Canada’s Sam Bennett took out two of his front teeth during the Olympic gold medal game, and Hughes carried on and scored the overtime winner against Canada anyway. He waited until the NHL season had finished in March before getting the dental work done. Tuesday made it twice in a year.
Eight months later, he’s booking another appointment.
READ MORE: Sheldon Keefe’s verdict on the Hellebuyck debut was clear
The rest of the evening went well enough to make up for it. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 17 of 18 in his New Jersey Devils debut, four days after arriving from Winnipeg, and Nico Hischier scored twice. Hughes added the fifth at 13:15 of the third, and his brother Luke Hughes also finished with a goal and an assist.
New Jersey won 5-1, extending their winning run to four and ending a five-game streak for the Dallas Stars. Hryckowian, for his part, scored Dallas’ only goal.
Read more:
