Hughes ignites the Wild offense, shattering franchise records for assists and defenseman points. He's the driving force behind their recent surge.
Quinn Hughes had a hand in everything in the Minnesota Wild's (25-10-7) win over the Anaheim Ducks (21-17-3) on Friday.
Hughes, 26, recorded four assists and factored on all four of Minnesota’s goals to open the game. This matched the franchise record for points in a game by a defenseman and set a new mark for assists in a single game by a Wild blueliner.
It was the second straight game where the Wild’s offense ran through Hughes on the back end. Every goal started with his stick.
Whether it was a clean breakout, a quick bump at the line, or a touch that kept a play alive just long enough for Minnesota to finish.
The four-assist night was the fourth of Hughes’ career, tying Phil Housley for the fourth-most by an American defenseman in NHL history. Only Gary Suter, Chris Chelios and Brian Leetch have more.
Through 10 games with the Wild, Hughes is up to 11 points, setting a new franchise benchmark for most points by a defenseman through his first 10 games with the club.
He passed Zeev Buium, who had eight points in 10 games before being moved in the deal that brought Hughes to Minnesota.
This wasn’t a one-off spike. The Wild have leaned heavily on Hughes since his arrival, and nights like this show why. He’s driving play, touching everything, and quietly stacking results.
Minnesota is 8-1-2 since the trade and 7-1-2 with Hughes in the lineup. Minnesota has the second-most points from blueliners in the NHL since the trade. Also, the Wild lead the NHL in goals with 44 since the trade.
In 32 games before acquiring Hughes, Wild bluliners had 54 points which was 29th in the NHL). They averaged 6.6 shots per game and averaged 0.47 points per game.
In the 10 games with Hughes, the Wild’s blueliners have 30 points, are averaging 7.5 shots per game and are averaging 0.86 points per game, which is first in the NHL.
“He’s one of those dynamic offensive players,” head coach John Hynes said. “He helps you in so many different ways, from breakouts to transition to rush play and his vision in the offensive zone. I thought tonight, he did a really good job. I think he was delivering shots, and I think you have to respect him as a shot threat and he has the ability to find some open plays.”
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
