Fans roar with pride for Olympic hero Jack Hughes as Devils fall to Sabres
U.S. Olympian Tage Thompson scored his 31st goal of the season and added an assist to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Wednesday night in the NHL's return to action.
Thompson had three goals and an assist in six games in Milan for the champion United States.
Peyton Krebs also had a goal and an assist, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves. The Sabres have won seven of 10 to improve to 33-19-6.
Buffalo is looking to make the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons. The Sabres entered Wednesday night in the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Thompson scored in the second period, and Krebs made it 2-0 midway through the third. Timo Meier scored for New Jersey with 2:30 to play. U.S. Olympic hero Jack Hughes assisted on Meier's goal.
Jake Allen had 28 saves for New Jersey. The Devils are 28-28-2.
Jack Hughes honored for Olympics overtime goal
Hughes was honored by the Devils before the game. The Devils showed video of Hughes' overtime goal in the United States' 2-1 victory over Canada on Sunday in the gold-medal game.
Hockey fans roared with pride as they welcomed Hughes back to the rink. He took a victory lap with Thompson in a welcome home Olympic victory ceremony.
Hughes and his brother Quinn Hughes propelled Team USA to hockey stardom, helping them secure the Olympic gold medal for the first time in 46 years. It was a dream come true for a legacy hockey family.
"Every kid probably dreams of that. Obviously, it doesn't matter who scored it for the U.S., but it was really special being Jack," said Luke Hughes, Jack and Quinn's brother and a fellow New Jersey Devil.
The excitement extends beyond the stadium.
At Hobby's Delicatessen, just a block from the Prudential Center, owners Marc and Michael Brummer have added "Jack's Golden Goal Sandwich" to the menu, advertising it as "so tender, you don't need your teeth," a reference to the mouth injury Jack Hughes sustained before making his overtime goal.
Up next
Sabres: At Florida on Friday night.
Devils: At Pittsburgh on Thursday night.