The are struggling without Jack Hughes. Coach Sheldon Keefe and Co. have lost two straight games to the and since their center's absence. Will this also Saku Koivu Jersey mean that Team USA won't have him for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics? Well, Keefe dropped a very optimistic timeline for his return. Hughes to play before Milano Cortina A lower-body injury has been keeping Hughes from the ice. While this could be concerning for most players and they usually err on the side of caution, the Devils do not seem to need anymore waiting time. They are going to have Hughes back in their lineup when they face the before the NHL stops all activities for the Winter Olympics. Coach Keefe outlined the reasoning behind this decision, "It's just a level of strength and obviously pain subsiding but it's more so the strength and to be able to have the nece sary reinforcement that you need to play in an NHL game. His goal is to play on Thursday and he's trying to do everything that he can to get to that point, but it's really up to the medical team. They're not confident with where he's at but we'll just see what Wednesday brings," the Devils head coach declared. Notably, Hughes was already skating with the team on Monday. He then progre sed quickly to shooting pucks the next day which means that this injury decision was rational for the Devils. However, there are concern that he could reaggravate the injury due to constant time on the ice. In the games without Hughes, New Jersey has only scored a single point. Clearly, they need an offensive engine to run the team. It will also be a positive sign for Team USA fans to see him in action before representing the stars and stripes in the Olympics. After all, Auston Matthews could use his help whenever he is off the ice. Hopefully, Hughes comes back even stronger against the Islanders. If the Devils do end up winning on Thursday, their slow ascent to being the dead-last team in the Metropolitan Division will be halted. More NHL News: Doug Harvey Jersey