Jack Hughes Scores Twice — Devils Spoil Vegas’s Nevada Day, 5–2

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2026 — T-MOBILE ARENA, LAS VEGAS

Vegas held a lead for 54 seconds on Nevada Day. That was the whole celebration.

Arseny Gritsyuk and Jack Hughes each scored twice, and Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves to win his second straight start since joining New Jersey, as the Devils beat the Golden Knights 5–2 at T-Mobile Arena on Friday night — Vegas’s fourth loss in five games.

The first period had everything. Luke Hughes opened the scoring at 5:38, one-timing a feed from Anthony Mantha from the top of the left circle. Vegas answered with its best 90 seconds of the night: Mark Stone tied it 1–1 on the power play at 16:27, tipping a Mitch Marner shot, and Ivan Barbashev finished a Marner pass across the front of the net at 17:57 to put the Golden Knights in front, 2–1.

Then Gritsyuk erased it before the building had finished cheering. William Karlsson broke up a Devils rush, Gritsyuk stayed with the play anyway, and at 18:51 — 54 seconds after Barbashev’s goal — he scored from the left circle to send the teams in tied, 2–2.

“It was so important because we lost a goal before our shift,” Gritsyuk said. “Sheldon told us, ‘We need a hard shift,’ and we do this shift. … It happened and we go after the first period 2–2, and it’s a new game.”

A new game, owned by New Jersey

It was a new game, and it belonged to New Jersey. Jack Hughes gave the Devils the lead for good at 3:49 of the second, skating through three defenders to beat Adin Hill. Gritsyuk pushed it to 4–2 at 18:16 of the second, putting in his own rebound on the rush — his second of the night and a team-high eighth of the season. Jack Hughes closed it with an empty-net goal at 17:09 of the third, his second of the game and sixth of the season.

Vegas, meanwhile, did not score again after the first period. Hill made 27 saves, Marner assisted on both Golden Knights goals, and defenseman Brayden McNabb marked his 900th NHL game with an assist — a milestone that deserved a better night around it.

“We haven’t finished well at all. We haven’t played with the lead as much as we did earlier,” Vegas coach Ryan Craig said. “It could be those things I think force you to probably squeeze your stick a little bit. We shouldn’t be concerned about that part of our game because when we do manage the puck, and we do check, we create those opportunities.”

Barbashev was blunter: “Just didn’t play well. It’s just on us. We didn’t play well enough today. There have been some good moments in the first period, but that was it. They just shut us down in the second and third.”

The goalie is the other story

The story on the other bench is the goalie. Hellebuyck arrived from the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 23 in a trade built around Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, debuted Tuesday with 17 saves in a 5–1 win at Dallas, and has now won both of his starts as a Devil, allowing three goals total. On Friday he also passed Craig Anderson (150) for the fifth-most road wins by a U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history.

“He’s a Hall of Fame goalie,” Luke Hughes said. “He’s unbelievable. It’s been fun to play with him.”

And when Luke and Jack Hughes both score, this is what happens: Friday was the 11th time they’ve done it in the same game since Luke entered the league in 2022-23 — the second time this week — and New Jersey is 10-1-0 in those games.

“We’re developing great confidence around here in our ability,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “In terms of playing with a lead, it’s probably the best third period we’ve had in the season.”

New Jersey (9-5-0) has won five of its past six and finished its three-game Western road trip 2-1-0. Vegas (9-5-1) is 1-3-1 in its past five — and now takes the problem on the road: a four-game trip that starts Monday in Boston against the Bruins (4 p.m. PT, TD Garden).

Today in the NHL: It’s the busiest Halloween gameday since 2015, with 10 games on the schedule. The early window has Chicago at Boston (1 p.m. ET) and Connor McDavid — carrying an NHL-record 13-game assist streak to start a season — visiting Matthew Schaefer and the Islanders (2 p.m. ET).

— Previously Staff