Devils fans welcome Jack Hughes back to New Jersey with pregame celebration

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NEWARK, N.J. – Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils returned to NHL enactment connected Wednesday nighttime against the Buffalo Sabres, the archetypal crippled since the commencement of the Olympic break. Safe to accidental that a batch has happened since Hughes past pulled the New Jersey sweater implicit his caput and skated connected Prudential Center ice.

Hughes scored the golden medal-winning extremity successful overtime to decision Canada during the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 24-year-old is present arguably the biggest American hockey prima acknowledgment to his heroics successful Milan and fans successful Newark fto him know.

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Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils skates during warm-ups earlier the NHL regular play crippled astatine the Prudential Center connected Feb. 25, 2026 successful Newark, New Jersey. (Andrew Maclean/NHLI via Getty Images)

Prior to puck driblet against Buffalo, the Devils honored each of their Olympians from 2026, including those who represented overseas nations. As expected, nary 1 received a warmer reception from the assemblage than Hughes.

The pregame ceremonial brought fans close backmost to Sunday morning. As the golden medal-winning extremity replay played connected the Jumbotron, fans cheered similar it was happening successful existent time. "U-S-A" chant aft "U-S-A" chant echoed passim the arena, which was littered with American flags.

Hughes archetypal grabbed chap Team USA teammate Tage Thompson from the visiting Buffalo Sabres seat and fto fans admit him earlier grabbing the mic. He astir broke down successful tears portion addressing the crowd.

Days Of Celebrating The Gold Medal

It's been a whirlwind for Team USA since capturing the golden medal connected Sunday successful Italy. The squad traveled backmost to the United States and partied successful Miami connected Monday earlier astir of the squad headed up to Washington, D.C. for President Donald Trump's State of the Union code connected Tuesday.

Despite disapproval from the left-wing media for gathering with the President of the United States aft delivering the country's archetypal golden medal successful men's hockey since 1980, Hughes has stood beardown successful his patriotism.

"Everything is truthful political. We’re athletes. We’re truthful arrogant to correspond the U.S. and erstwhile you get the accidental to spell to the White House and conscionable the president, we’re arrogant to beryllium Americans and that’s truthful patriotic," Hughes said.

Players similar Hughes, whose NHL teams returned to enactment connected Wednesday, had a precise choky turnaround to get backmost connected the ice. While it mightiness instrumentality a fewer shifts for the boys to get their legs back, it's hard to ideate immoderate American hockey fans complaining.

Jack Hughes of United States celebrates with his nationalist emblem aft scoring their 2nd extremity successful overtime to triumph golden connected Feb. 22, 2026. (REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo)

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Fans successful New Jersey are surely gladsome to person their American leader backmost connected the ice.