Devils roll to 5-2 victory in Wild's first 'Hughes Bowl'

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 12, 2026

Published in Hockey

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild’s debut in the “Hughes Bowl” was a dud.

Younger brothers Jack and Luke will hold onto bragging rights over Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes after the New Jersey Devils won 5-2 Monday at Grand Casino Arena in only the third ever matchup between the three siblings.

Ondrej Palat’s 1-1 tiebreaker with 8 seconds to go in the second period for the Devils doomed the Wild, who were fighting the puck all night en route to a second consecutive loss.

Until a last-minute power play goal by Marcus Foligno, the Wild’s only goal was a deflection by Ryan Hartman during a marathon shift by Hughes and Brock Faber, who threw the puck on net for the redirect for the equalizer after the Wild fell behind first.

But the Devils routed the Wild in the third period after that late go-ahead goal, scoring three times — including two in 21 seconds for Jesper Bratt on the same shift. Palat also added another.

Only Jack Hughes earned a point among the brothers, an assist on Bratt’s first goal, in a big victory for him and Luke, as New Jersey had dropped four in a row and eight of its previous 10. Jack and Luke improved to 3-0 vs. their older brother.

In a separate showdown, between two of Sweden’s Olympic goaltenders, Jacob Markstrom had 20 saves compared to 24 for the Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt; the other goalie named to Sweden’s roster, Filip Gustavsson, was on the Wild bench.

Dating back before Christmas, the Wild are winless in their past four games on home ice. Their last victory in St. Paul was Dec. 20 vs. Edmonton.

How it happened

Although the Wild scored three in an overtime loss to the New York Islanders two nights earlier, they lamented their lack of execution … but the Wild had an even tougher time finishing against New Jersey.

Quinn Hughes hit the post in the first period and soon after, Jack had a shot sail wide for the Devils. Matt Boldy had a game-high four misses, including a 2-on-1 and backhander after he was left all alone.

At 10:07 of the first, Dawson Mercer buried a behind-the-net pass from Nico Hischier to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.

The Wild’s aim wasn’t much better in the second, with a glaring shot through the crease by Vladimir Tarasenko after two Wild players passed off shots.

Finally, during 1:58 shifts for Faber and Hughes that included Hughes exiting the offensive zone for a regroup, Faber’s shot was tipped in by Hartman at 13:41 for Hartman’s third goal in his past four games. Faber’s assist extended his point streak to five games.

Turning point

But the Wild and Devils weren’t tied for long.

Hischier passed to the front of the net where Palat pounced on the puck for a last-minute goal in the second to reclaim momentum for New Jersey, which was playing its second game in as many days.

But the Devils didn’t look tired: They ran away in the third, beginning with a goal off the rush for Bratt at 7:28.

Bratt stayed on the ice and for an encore tipped in the puck with his back toward the net only 21 seconds later. Palat polished off the blitz at 9:39 by burying a slam-dunk pass from Mercer after the puck got away from Quinn Hughes.

With 19 seconds to go, Foligno wired in a rebound on the power play, which finished 1 for 2; New Jersey went 0 for 2.

Key stat

The Wild had 39 shots miss the net or get blocked by the Devils.

What it means

Like the 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders, the Wild had more than enough chances to win.

They had so many close calls in the first and second periods that if they capitalized on even just a few of them it could have changed the tone against a sputtering New Jersey team.

Instead, the Devils looked more confident and comfortable the longer they were in the game, particularly Markstrom, who was coming off a nine-goal loss.

It’d be more worrisome if the Wild weren’t generating looks, but it’s also rare to see them struggle to score like this.

Up next

The Wild won’t be back in action until Thursday, Jan. 15, against Central Division rival Winnipeg.

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