Quinn Hughes shatters defensive scoring records, driving the Wild's offense. His historic assist streak highlights a defenseman's incredible impact.
The Minnesota Wild (35-14-10) picked up a win on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche (38-10-9) to push its winning-streak to six games in a row.
It also marked a night where Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes broke some more records.
It’s starting to feel routine, but that doesn’t make it any less significant.
Hughes factored in on Joel Eriksson Ek’s second goal of the game and extended both his point and assist streaks to 11 games. He has two goals and 17 assists in that span.
The assist streak is now the longest in the NHL this season and continues to build on his own franchise record. The 11-game point streak ranks fourth in team history.
Hughes is also putting together one of the most productive starts by a defenseman with a new team in NHL history.
Through 27 games, he has 32 assists and 35 points, making him the third-fastest defenseman ever to reach that mark with a new franchise. Only Paul Coffey (24 GP with Pittsburgh) and Harry Cameron (26 GP with Toronto) did it faster.
Hughes’ 11-game assist streak ties Mark Howe (1979-80 with Hartford) for the second-longest point streak by a defenseman in his first season with a franchise. Only Steve Duchesne (15 GP in 1992-93 with Quebec) had a longer run.
This isn’t a heater built on secondary assists and lucky bounces either. Hughes is driving the Wild’s offense from the back end every night. He’s quarterbacking the power play, controlling breakouts and consistently finding seams that aren’t there for most defensemen.
The Wild are certainly reaping the benefits. They have a league-high 110 goals and Conference-most 41 points in the standings since the Hughes trade.
At this point, it’s not about whether he’ll add another assist. It’s about how much higher he’s going to climb before this streak ends.
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