PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jack Hughes knows that at some point, the chaos that has been his life since his gold-medal winning overtime goal for the United States at the Milan Cortina Olympics will end.
The New Jersey Devils star isn't there yet. And might not be for a while.
The 24-year-old Hughes — his smile still missing the handful of teeth he lost in the Olympic final against Canada — received a loud and long ovation on the road in Pittsburgh on Thursday
night, the latest in a series of “is this really happening?" moments since his overtime score on the final day of the Games gave the U.S. its first Olympic goal in men's hockey in 46 years.
During a brief pregame ceremony that included a nod to members of the gold-medal winning U.S. women's team as well as Penguins and Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, the crowd at PPG Paints Arena turned the volume way up when the spotlight swung to Hughes' No. 86.
Some of the 18,288 in attendance chanted “Huuuuuughhhes! Huuuuuughhhes!” before it morphed into “U-S-A! U-S-A!," catching Hughes a little off guard.
“I was thinking going into the game, I knew they’d do something, but obviously, you know, Crosby’s the biggest athlete here,” said Hughes, who had an assist on New Jersey's lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Penguins. “So I’m sure they were cheering for Canada as well, but obviously a lot of proud Americans in the crowd tonight. And that was something I’ll always remember."
Pittsburgh fans did something similar 16 years ago for then Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, who was on the wrong end of Crosby's “golden goal” for Team Canada that capped the 2010 Games in Vancouver.
Miller and that Team USA team had to settle for silver. Hughes etched out his own space in U.S. Olympic lore and earned gold in the process with his overtime score in Italy. The last few days have been a whirlwind that included a trip to the White House and a cameo at President Donald Trump's State of the Union.
Hughes was celebrated at home in New Jersey on Wednesday. To receive the same welcome against a Metropolitan Division rival, with the chance at another one on Saturday when the Devils visit St. Louis, is not something he anticipated.
“Obviously, it’s not going to last forever, but just really cool,” he said.
Hughes allowed that the pace of things have not really allowed him to process it all just yet. While re-entering the grind of the NHL regular season has been challenging after what he called “probably the best moment of my life,” his time at the rink has given him a welcome dose of routine.
“The best thing that’s happened to me is getting back on the ice and playing,” he said. “Just so I have like four or five hours of no distractions.”
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