The New Jersey Devils may have lost to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, with Luke Hughes netting two goals on the Devils' net, but the bigger takeaway from the game was the way that the Devils team stood behind the young defender.
After the game, several players spoke to the media to defend their teammate, who had been booed by the home crowd.
At first, Captain Nico Hischier was not scheduled to address the media, but after the game, he entered the locker room to deliver a message to the press.
"I don't support that at all. You can tell if somebody's making a mistake, & he's obviously not feeling great about it," Hischier told NJD.tv. "I understand the frustration (...) we fully stand behind Luke (and) we move on from here."
Goaltender Jake Allen also expressed his support for Hughes.
“I've had fans boo me. I don't think he deserves,” Allen told NJD.tv. “He's a kid that made two mistakes in a hockey game. Whoever doesn't make mistakes, I'd love to meet you, you know? It's a tough situation for him (…) probably something he's never felt before.”
Allen four goals past him, and the team ultimately fell 4-1 to the Hurricanes.
After his teammates spoke, 22-year-old Luke Hughes also addressed the media following the game, taking responsibility for his errors.
“I made a couple of mistakes tonight, and I have to be better,” Luke said.
The Devils are now 22-19-2. The team started the season at the top of the league standings, but has struggled since.
The loss to Carolina highlights a trend of a lack of offensive abilities. Despite the ongoing struggles, the crowd directed their feelings towards the youngest Hughes brother, booing every time he had the puck.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about his feelings regarding the crowd noise directed at Hughes.
"It's disappointing that that was the reaction that we had in the building for the youngest player on the ice, but he'll give them lots of reasons to cheer in the future,” Keefe continued. "I don't want to see any of our players have to go through something like that in terms of the fan reaction, you know? But in terms of what got us to that situation, that's a young player having a tough couple of plays."
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