Ruff added that Hughes will be further evaluated on Wednesday.
Hughes was rubbed out along the boards by Jeremy Lauzon late in the opening frame. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick was favoring his upper body as he left the ice and didn't return.
Hughes scored two goals in the Devils' opener on Friday and already recorded an assist during Tuesday's first period. He finished second on the team with 31 points in 56 games a year ago.
This guarantees the Russian superstar will miss at least 10 games and 24 days. It also means the $9.5-million average annual value on Kucherov's contract won't count against the cap for the time being.
Kucherov departed Saturday's game against the Washington Capitals with what appeared to be a lower-body injury after colliding with Garnet Hathaway.
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) October 17, 2021
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Monday that the ailment is "definitely not a day-to-day thing" and that Kucherov is "going to be out for a while."
Kucherov spent the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign on LTIR while recovering from offseason hip surgery, allowing the Lightning to stay cap compliant without trading away any key players. He returned for the playoffs and helped guide the Bolts to their second straight Stanley Cup.
The ailment, which Pacioretty suffered in Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Kings, is expected to keep him out for approximately six weeks, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.
Pacioretty is the latest Golden Knight to go down, as the team is dealing with a litany of injuries up front.
For those keeping track of the Knights' forwards:
- Alex Tuch (LTIR) - Nicolas Roy (IR) - Brett Howden (IR) - William Carrier (concussion protocol) - Mattias Janmark (COVID-19 protocol) - Max Pacioretty (Out possibly six weeks, per @FriedgeHNIC) - Mark Stone (TBD)
Toronto, which made the move after netminder Petr Mrazek suffered a groin injury Thursday in Ottawa, was only carrying one extra skater due to its cap crunch. However, that extra skater, Timothy Liljegren, is needed to play on Saturday due to an illness to defenseman Justin Holl, head coach Sheldon Keefe announced, per TSN's Mark Masters.
Mrazek's injury doesn't appear to be a long-term issue, Keefe added. So neither Mrazek, Holl, nor Auston Matthews - who was already ruled out for the first week of the season - are on long-term injured reserve. Thus, all three players still count against the cap even though they won't be active Saturday night.
Once the Leafs play one game short an NHL player - as they will Saturday - they can recall third goalie Michael Hutchinson from the AHL on an emergency basis for their next tilt Monday, even if their injury and cap situation remains the same, per TSN's Chris Johnston.
Bishop, a native of Richmond Hill, Ontario, posted a .922 save percentage in 24 games with the Varsity Blues in 2019-20. Prior to attending UofT, the 24-year-old played three seasons in the QMJHL and a year split between the OJHL and MHL.
Liljegren, a first-round pick in 2017, has skated in 13 career NHL games, recording one assist. He's projected to take Holl's spot alongside Jake Muzzin, with whom Liljegren was paired during the team's first week of training camp.
Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon and head coach Jared Bednar will miss the team's first game of the 2021-22 campaign after testing positive for COVID-19, general manager Joe Sakic announced Tuesday, per Altitude TV's Marc Moser.
Both are asymptomatic, Sakic added.
The Avs open their season Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
MacKinnon was a Hart Trophy finalist last campaign after recording 65 points in 48 games.
Nikita Gusev is heading back to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, the league announced Tuesday.
The 29-year-old was recently released from his professional tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs after recording a pair of assists in three preseason games.
Gusev arrived in the NHL with plenty of hype. He lived up to it in his first campaign, tallying 44 points in 66 games with the New Jersey Devils in 2019-20.
Things took a turn for the worst last season, though, as he only managed four goals and six assists in 31 contests split between the Devils and the Florida Panthers while posting poor underlying metrics.
Gusev was one of the KHL's most electric players before he headed to North America, racking up 82 points in 62 games in 2018-19 with SKA St. Petersburg.
He also led the Olympic Athletes of Russia to a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, pacing the team with 12 points in six contests.
Gusev was originally a seventh-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012.
Vitali Kravtsov's time in the Big Apple may come to an end before it really got going.
The New York Rangers have given the forward permission to contact other teams in pursuit of a trade after he was left off the season-opening roster, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
The Rangers selected Kravtsov ninth overall at the 2018 draft. The 6-foot-3 winger skated in 20 games with the Blueshirts last season, registering two goals and two assists while averaging 12:24 per contest.
Kravtsov also logged 49 games in the KHL last season, tallying 16 goals and eight assists with Chelyabinsk Traktor.
Suzuki is entering the final year of his entry-level contract, so the new deal will begin in 2022-23.
The 22-year-old posted 41 points in 56 games last season. He had a coming-out party in the playoffs, tallying seven goals and nine assists in 22 postseason contests during Montreal's miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Suzuki was drafted 13th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. He was shipped to Montreal, along with Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick, in exchange for Max Pacioretty in 2018.
Many expected Barre-Boulet to make the Lightning after the club lost multiple key forwards in the offseason. The undrafted product out of Montmagny, Quebec, has been highly productive in the AHL, racking up 136 points in 144 games over the last three seasons. The 24-year-old has only played 15 NHL contests, but he could get a longer look with the Kraken.
The Maple Leafs lose Brooks to the rival Canadiens. The 2016 fourth-round pick has tallied four goals and four assists in 18 career NHL games. He failed to crack Toronto's roster despite the club missing Auston Matthews and Ilya Mikheyev to begin the season.
Brown has served as a reliable depth forward for the Golden Knights over the last couple of seasons, skating in more playoff games (14) than regular-season contests (5).
Jonsson-Fjallby's stay in Buffalo was short-lived. The Sabres claimed him off waivers from the Capitals on Oct. 4, only for Washington to re-claim him Monday. He's been assigned to the AHL's Hershey Bears.