- Luke Hughes and Matthew Schaefer traded punches in the second period at UBS Arena
- Hughes says it wasn’t a fight because neither player had his gloves off
- Read below for what both said and how Jack Hughes ended it in overtime
Luke Hughes doesn’t want to call it a fight.
The Devils defenseman and Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer got into it late in the second period Saturday night at UBS Arena, trading shots after a scrum in front of the New York net. Neither player has a fight on his NHL record, and neither dropped the gloves.
Hughes was asked about the scrap after the game and brushed it off.
“I think hockey is an emotional sport, and I wouldn’t call that a fight at all,” Hughes said. “Neither of us had our gloves off. It’s part of the game, two competitive guys.”
Watch the two go at it with the gloves on:
Schaefer gave a similar answer when he talked about it. He described the exchange as “just kind of roughing up a bit” and said the two were “just kind of grabbing each other.”
Hughes also said the moment started with a grab at his visor. “He just had my visor, and we just started,” he said, before adding that it “doesn’t really matter.”
The Islanders led 4-2 at that point. The Devils chipped away in the third period with goals from Luke Evangelista and Dougie Hamilton, then won it in overtime.
Jack Hughes scored at 1:18 of the extra period on a breakaway, beating Ilya Sorokin blocker side off a pass from his brother Luke. It was Jack’s league-leading third overtime goal of the season and the fourth time this season the two brothers factored on the same goal. Schaefer lost the puck going to the net right before the rush the other way.
Catch the sequence, with Schaefer going down at one end and Jack scoring at the other:
Schaefer was not happy afterward. He was animated with the officials right after the goal, and Islanders coach Pete DeBoer wouldn’t touch the subject postgame. “I’m not making any comments on the refereeing calls, so don’t ask,” DeBoer said.
Here’s Schaefer going after the refs:
The Devils (12-5-0) have won four straight and 10 of 12. The Islanders (7-6-3) have lost three in a row. New York already owns a 6-0 win over New Jersey from Oct. 3, so there is a rivalry brewing between these two teams.
Schaefer has been making teenage defenseman history all season, and Jack Hughes is one of the scorers helping Connor Hellebuyck settle in with the Devils.
