NEW YORK — Trevor Zegras acknowledged the strangeness of it all, lining up Saturday against his good friend Jack Hughes when the Ducks faced the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J. Zegras also acknowledged the fear of it, too, whenever he was on the ice at the same time as Hughes.
“It was definitely weird at first,” Zegras said after the first head-to-head meeting between two of the NHL’s brightest young players. “It didn’t feel right playing against him. Something about lining up against him out there. It was definitely a little funny. At the end of the day, we’re all competitors.
“After seeing him for a couple of times, you’re just dialed in.”
Neither of the 20-year-old wunderkinds, teammates on past United States national teams, had a goal or an assist in the game, won by the Devils in a shootout 2-1. Both players were noticeable, and for many of the same reasons, according to Ducks coach Dallas Eakins.
“I said after the first period, ‘Jeez, Hughes and Zegras look like twins out there,’” Eakins said after Zegras recorded two shots on goal and Hughes had six. “They hold their sticks the same way. Their posture is the same when they skate. It was really peculiar to me to watch them like that together.”
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) works the puck past Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Mahura (76) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Hughes was injured and didn’t play when the Ducks defeated the Devils on Nov. 2 at Honda Center. Zegras sat out the Ducks’ loss Thursday to the Nashville Predators because of an upper-body injury. Zegras said Saturday’s game against Hughes and the Devils was “must-play for me.”
“Obviously, he’s an unbelievable player,” Zegras said of Hughes. “Whenever I was on the ice, I was making sure he was nowhere near the net. It was definitely cool to play against him. … We just tried to limit the things he could do out there. He’s always got the puck on his stick trying to find his teammates.”
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MANSON’S SELF-ANALYSIS
Josh Manson’s first game since breaking a finger in a Jan. 29 game against the Ottawa Senators didn’t go exactly as planned. It took a while to sharpen his game instincts. He had been skating on his own and practicing with his teammates, but the pace of actual games is different.
“Overall, I felt pretty good,” he said. “I made some decent reads out there. A couple of breakout passes. Made a positive impact. Didn’t stand out in a negative way in the first one back. The team did some great things out there tonight. I like to see that (tighter defense). I like to see only one goal against.”
Manson assisted on the Ducks’ lone goal Saturday, Troy Terry’s team-leading 29th of the season.
PROSPECT WATCH
Olle Eriksson Ek stopped 22 shots and earned his first AHL shutout in the San Diego Gulls’ 4-0 victory Saturday over the Ontario Reign, one night after Lukas Dostal had 22 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Bakersfield Condors. It was the first time the Gulls had back-to-back shutouts in their history.
Bo Groulx scored two goals Saturday against the Reign and extended his goal streak to three games. He has four goals and three assists in his past six games and 10 goals and seven assists in his past 21 games. Overall, he has 10 goals and eight assists in 28 games this season.