New Jersey / The Dallas game
Jack Hughes Loses a Tooth, Then Scores Against the Stars
A first-period high stick sent Hughes to the dressing room. He returned in a full face cage and scored the last goal of a 5–1 Devils win.
Ellie Shirt Editorial · November 13, 2026
The detail that tells the story is on Jack Hughes’s helmet. In the third-period replay from Dallas on October 27, 2026, the white No. 86 shell is familiar. The full cage below it wasn’t there when the night started. Hughes took a high stick to the face from Stars forward Justin Hryckowian in the first period, left for the dressing room and returned to start the second with full face protection. He scored at 13:15 of the third, putting New Jersey up 5–1. Read the Devils’ game story.
“The Jack Hughes Special” is the shirt’s name for that sequence. The design fits the kind of story that gives the New Jersey Devils collection a sense of place and time. Here, the cage tells you which part of the night you’re looking at before you ever read the slogan.
- First periodHughes takes a high stick and leaves the ice.
- Second periodHe returns wearing full face protection.
- Third periodHe scores New Jersey’s fifth and final goal.
The clip that spread and the replay that finished the story
The injury clip made the rounds first. Coverage didn’t agree on an exact tooth count, so the singular “lose a tooth” is best read as the shirt’s punch line, not a dental tally. What matters for the story is the order. Hughes left, came back with different equipment and scored. The goal wasn’t an overtime winner or the difference in the game. It was insurance with the Devils already ahead, which makes it a detail you might have forgotten without seeing the cage.
Why Dallas reminded people of Milan
Months earlier, Hughes had taken a high stick in the Olympic men’s gold-medal game before scoring the overtime goal that beat Canada 2–1 at Milano Cortina. The image from that game was the grin after the winner. Dallas was a different night with different stakes. This time, he was playing for New Jersey, and the memorable equipment was the cage he wore after returning. The connection is the sequence, not the occasion. Read NHL.com’s account of the Olympic final.
“Lose a tooth. Score a goal.” Caption on the Ellie Shirt design, not a quote from Hughes
On the shirt, the red title curves around an illustrated No. 86 helmet. The black linework puts the cage and expression up front, and the small handwritten line underneath gives the drawing its timing. Putting those words in the biggest type would make it a slogan shirt. Keeping them small lets you see the face first, just as the replay does.
The Jack Hughes SpecialSee the No. 86 cage portrait and the line that sums up the Dallas night →
Questions about Jack Hughes’s tooth and goal in Dallas
When did Jack Hughes lose a tooth and score against Dallas?
It happened on October 27, 2026. Hughes took a first-period high stick and scored in the third period of a 5–1 Devils win over the Dallas Stars.
Why was Jack Hughes wearing a full face cage?
He returned with full face protection after Justin Hryckowian’s stick struck him in the face during the first period.
Is The Jack Hughes Special shirt about the Olympics?
The illustrated Devils helmet and cage point to the Dallas game. The slogan also recalls the separate Olympic final, when Hughes took a high stick and later scored the overtime winner against Canada.
Browse Jack Hughes designs or find more rink moments in the NHL collection.