‘Whoever doesn’t make mistakes, I’d love to meet you’: Devils players react to booing against Luke Hughes
The New Jersey Devils rushed to the defense of their teammate following a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Devils’ defenseman Luke Hughes had a difficult night, scoring on his own net just a minute into the game, then carrying the puck in front of his net midway through the second before Hurricanes’ forward Taylor Hall’s stick poked it past Jake Allen for Hughes’ second gaffe of the contest.
Take 'em however you can get 'em pic.twitter.com/J4070LiiSb
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 5, 2026Created something out of nothing 😤 pic.twitter.com/BELOVYifhk
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 5, 2026After the two blunders, Devils fans booed Hughes every time he touched the puck for the rest of the game.
Devils fans booing Luke Hughes every time he touches the puck after two gaffes led to Hurricanes goals pic.twitter.com/8HsFoXxMYy
— Hunter Crowther (@HunterCrowther) January 5, 2026After the game, Hughes spoke with reporters and took responsibility for the errors.
“It is what it is. It’s part of sports. Obviously, I made a couple mistakes tonight, and I have to be better,” he said.
“I made a couple of mistakes tonight, and I have to be better.”
Luke Hughes speaks to the media following tonight's game. pic.twitter.com/6Ce8JZULCp
Captain Nico Hischier, who according to Devils reporter Amanda Stein wasn’t originally requested for interviews after the game, came into the locker room and asked to speak about the boos.
“I don’t support that at all,” Hischier said. “You can tell if somebody’s making a mistake and he’s obviously not feeling great about it. At the end of the day, the first one was on the first shift, there’s a whole game in front of him. As a teammate, and also as fans, you’ve got to embrace that obviously he’s not happy with that, and booing doesn’t help.”
Nico Hischier standing up for Luke Hughes 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Wa0951Zzg7
— Devils Fanatics (@devilsfanatics) January 5, 2026“I understand the frustration, but at the end of the day, it was a 2-1 game and we were still trying to battle for some points here, and us teammates fully stand behind Luke,” he continued. “He’s a great player and he knows what he did tonight, and that’s it. We move on from him.”
Goaltender Jake Allen also stood up for Hughes after the game.
“Listen, I’m a goalie. I’m the one that always gets the bad end of the stick when I make mistakes. I’ve made so many mistakes … I’ve had fans book me, I’ve had this and that, which, listen, I don’t think he deserves,” Allen said. “He’s a kid that made two mistakes in a hockey game.
“Whoever doesn’t make mistakes, I’d love to meet you, you know?” he continued. “It’s a tough situation for him. In a game like that, (it’s) probably something he’s never felt before.”
🎙️| #NJDevils Jake Allen on Luke Hughes following tonight’s game
“I dont think he deserved it (the boos). He’s a kid who made two mistakes in a hockey game. Whoever doesn’t make mistakes, I’d love to meet you.” pic.twitter.com/4CvWAmCO8F
Hughes has four goals and 17 assists for 21 points in 2025-26, leading all New Jersey defenders in assists and points. Now in his third full NHL season, Hughes, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, has 21 goals and 93 assists for 114 points in 197 career regular-season games. Through his first two full seasons with the Devils, he recorded back-to-back 40-point campaigns.
New Jersey is 22-18-2 with 46 points, sixth in the Metropolitan Division and two points back of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.