TORONTO -- In the bowels of Scotiabank Arena, in the area where friends and family of the visiting team congregate postgame, the biggest entourages belonged to New Jersey Devils coach Sheldon Keefe and forward Jack Hughes.
It was easy to see why, especially since both were enjoying homecomings of sorts.
And, truth be told, there were plenty of reasons to celebrate after the Devils 5-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
For Keefe, a native of the Toronto area, it was his first win with the Devils (5-1-0) against his former team after going 0-2-1 versus the Maple Leafs last season. The 45-year-old was fired by the Maple Leafs May 9, 2024, after five years behind the Toronto bench and subsequently was hired by the Devils 14 days later.
For Hughes, who was born in Orlando but grew up in Toronto playing minor hockey, it was a chance to show just how much a difference-maker he’s become. The 24-year-old led the Devils with three goals, upping his total to six in the past three games.
Add it all up, and it resulted in the Devils first five-game winning streak since Jan. 7-16, 2023 -- a span of 1,009 days, to be exact.
Afterward, Keefe was more pumped about his team’s performance than any kind of sentimentality about finally beating the Maple Leafs.
“I mean, we’re a year late, I’d say, from it meaning a whole lot,” he said, referring to any personal satisfaction related to defeating the team that had axed him. “But listen, I’ve got a lot of people here who are waiting to talk to me and a lot of people in the building. So, yeah, it’s a special place for me, always will be.
“And it does certainly feel a lot better coming out on the winning side.”
Thanks, in part, to Hughes, who’s been on a roll.
