Down Brett Pesce (sick), Johnathan Kovacevic (lower body, not day-to-day) and Anthony Mantha (LTIR), the New Jersey Devils dressed three players who weren’t in Tuesday’s lineup in Winnipeg. All three scored. Lenni Hameenaho tied it in the second with his first goal of the season, Vladislav Kolyachonok, called up from Utica that morning, scored the winner 6:27 into the third, and Stefan Noesen added insurance with 2:53 left. Jack Hughes hit the empty net, and the Devils beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 at Prudential Center to get to 14-6-0.

Now they get to do it again Saturday in D.C. Around the league, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar both left Colorado’s game in Ottawa, Frank Seravalli makes the case for Minnesota keeping Quinn Hughes past the deadline, and Detroit blew a three-goal lead in Florida. The links are below.

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Here’s the recap of the night every Devils call-up scored in a 5-2 win over the Capitals. Washington led 2-1 early in the second on goals from Ryan Leonard and Pierre-Luc Dubois before Hameenaho deflected in his first of the season, set up by Brenden Dillon and Cody Glass. Kolyachonok’s wrister put the Devils ahead for good, and they bounced back from Tuesday’s loss in Winnipeg.

Before the game, Sheldon Keefe gave a Kovacevic update that raises some concern. Keefe said the injury is “not a day-to-day thing at this point,” and I wrote about the worry that Kovacevic may have reinjured his surgically repaired knee. With Pesce out sick and Seamus Casey already on the injured non-roster list, Dougie Hamilton was the only natural right shot in the lineup.

Former NHL defenseman Erik Johnson went off on players who ask out of their contracts, and I looked at how Connor Hellebuyck’s exit from Winnipeg fits what Johnson described. Johnson was talking about Dylan Larkin and never named Hellebuyck, but Hellebuyck asked out two seasons into a seven-year, $59.1 million deal before Sunny Mehta landed him on Oct. 23.

The latest Devils Postgame Live: breaking down the Devils’ 5-2 win over the Capitals.

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NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Frank Seravalli breaks down the many layers of the Quinn Hughes situation with the Minnesota Wild, and makes the case for keeping Jack and Luke’s big brother past the deadline even without an extension. Bill Guerin said at the GM meetings he’d be willing to, “as of today,” and that he isn’t putting deadlines on anybody. Hughes hit 80 points in 68 games with Minnesota, which Seravalli says only Paul Coffey has done faster for one franchise. There’s also a note on Washington’s Cole Hutson, who set up Leonard’s goal in Newark.

Aarif Deen has the bad news: Nathan MacKinnon left the Colorado Avalanche‘s game against the Ottawa Senators in the second period after a collision with Artem Zub. That came just over a minute after Cale Makar appeared to hurt himself on a harmless-looking play, and Parker Kelly went down the tunnel before the period ended too. Ottawa won 4-3 in overtime.

Max Smith writes that the Detroit Red Wings choked away a three-goal lead to the Florida Panthers. Detroit led 4-1 after Marco Kasper’s first goal of the season, then gave up four straight, with Anton Lundell scoring twice, in a 5-4 loss. That’s five losses in a row for a team in the middle of the Larkin and Simon Edvinsson trade talk.

Jack Bushman has Kyle Davidson taking the blame for the Chicago Blackhawks‘ start while defending Jeff Blashill. The Hawks were 4-13-1 when Davidson spoke, without a road win and with the league’s worst goal differential at minus-37, and Bushman says they’re on pace for their fewest points in a full season since 1953-54.

Jack Studley recaps the Montreal Canadiens’ 5-2 rout of the Boston Bruins on Homecoming night at TD Garden. Montreal scored the first five, Jeremy Swayman was pulled after four goals on 15 shots, and Casey Mittelstadt scored both Boston goals. It was Boston’s first home loss since Oct. 5.

Jim Cerny writes that a first chance to play against the New York Rangers “means a lot” to Filip Chytil. Injuries have kept the Vancouver Canucks center from facing his old team since the J.T. Miller trade in January 2025, and he could finally get that chance Friday at Rogers Arena.