Jack Hughes has picked up the pace and dominated against the New York Rangers on Monday. However, he was also slammed by Steve Valiquette for a breakaway move—but his response was hilarious.
Hughes had a slow start to the season, but now he’s back to his usual self. With 8 points in his last three games, he delivered a dominant display against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
The Devils held a 2-0 lead in the first period, but it could have been larger. Hughes had a great opportunity to score on a breakaway but attempted a one-handed move on Igor Shesterkin, who turned it away with his blocker.
Jack Hughes slammed for breakaway move
However, MSG analyst Steve Valiquette was furious. During the intermission, he slammed Hughes for the attempt, calling it “more Instagram hockey than intense hockey.”
“I don’t like that because Hughes set out to embarrass Shesterkin there by slowing down and going to one hand,” Valiquette said.
Valiquette also added that in his playing days, someone would have gone after Hughes, and he felt the Rangers should have done the same.
“That should send a shockwave to everybody on the bench. I know in my day, Colton Orr would have been hanging over the bench banging his stick saying, ‘I’m coming after you because you tried to embarrass us,’” he said. “And that’s blatant disrespect, and I’m sort of surprised I didn’t see a response from the team.”
Hughes’ respond to Steve Valiquette
Fans were furious and confused by Valiquette’s take, with almost no one agreeing with him. Postgame, Hughes was asked about the comments, and his response was perfect.
“What does that even mean?” Hughes said.
Social media posts echoed the same sentiment.
“I guess Hughes should have politely given Igor the puck?! Like what kind of take is this?” one fan said.
“Old man yells at cloud,” another joked.
“I think the Rangers are doing a better job of disrespecting Igor than Jack is,” a third fan added after the Rangers allowed five goals in the 5-1 defeat.
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