The Hughes brothers had a historic night on the ice, playing in the same game for the first time as New Jersey Devils win
The Hughes family had quite a night on the ice as brothers Jack and Luke faced off against sibling Quinn as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.
It was the first time that the trio had all played in the same NHL game, and only the ninth time in NHL history that three brothers had taken to the ice at the same time.
According to the NHL, it was the second time an American family had three brothers play in the same game, and the first since 1990 when Neal and Aaron Broten of the Minnesota North Stars played against their brother Paul and the New York Rangers.
The trio, whose parents were in attendance at Rogers Arena, were able to take a historic photo together at center ice before the game.
“Getting a picture in warm-ups was really good,” said the 20-year-old Luke. “Haven’t really let it sink in yet. Just seeing [Quinn] off ice. I hadn’t seen him for a couple of months.”
The 24-year-old Quinn had two assists for the Canucks, giving him 36 points for the season, the most in the league for a defenseman. Luke and the 22-year-old Jack both scored for the Devils. Jack also picked up two assists.
“Of course you dream you’re going to play with your brothers in the NHL one day,” Jack told the NHL website before the game. “You’re in the basement, hanging out, playing, but you never really think it’s going to become a reality. For it to happen, it’s definitely pretty wild. It’s three kids in one game.
If much of the focus was on the Hughes siblings, Jesper Bratt’s contribution proved key with goals from the Swedish winger bookending the scoring, with a late one-timer off a rebound with 34 seconds left sealing the victory for New Jersey.
The Devils raced into a 5-2 lead through the first two periods but the Canucks came back into the game in the third as goals by Brock Boeser, Sam Lafferty and Nils Hoglander tied things up before Bratt’s last-minute winner.
“Pretty good in the first two [periods] and then pretty ugly in the third,” said Jack, summing up his team’s performance after the game. “But we found a way to win so that’s all that matters.”
“It’s tough now,” Quinn said when asked if he could appreciate playing against his brothers. “I’m sure they’re appreciating it more than I am right now, but it’s very cool. Looking back the next couple of days or months, it’d be a cool one.”
The Hughes brothers are no strangers to making history. Quinn was drafted seventh overall in 2018, Jack went first overall in 2019 and Luke came off the board at fourth overall in 2021, meaning that each brother was selected inside the top seven in an unprecedented feat.
Jack entered Tuesday’s game leading the league in points per game with 1.76, while Quinn came in at fourth overall in league scoring, per the Devils.
“They’ve put their name on notice throughout the League,” said Devils winger Tyler Toffoli ahead of Tuesday’s game. “The three of them are all extremely good players.
With Quinn and Jack being completely established and superstars already and Luke not far behind them.”
Though this was the first time that all three siblings had taken part in the same game, it was the seventh time that Quinn and Jack had faced off. Jack has frequently gotten the better of the matchup, with the Devils having a 6-1-0 record in these clashes.
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