NJ Devils All-Star Jack Hughes out with upperbody injury

New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes has an upper-body injury and is considered week to week.

Coach Lindy Ruff gave the injury update following the Devils morning skate ahead of their home game Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken. Hughes left practice early Wednesday.

“He’s a young guy — that’s going to help with it,” Ruff said. “I think it’s going to be on the shorter end.”

The 21-year-old Hughes represented New Jersey at NHL All-Star Weekend and is the biggest reason the the team contending and in a playoff spot for the first time in several seasons. He ranks third in the league in goals with 35 and ninth in points with 67, which is 16 more than the next-closest Devils player.

New Jersey is currently in second in the Metropolitan Division, behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes and just ahead of the rival New York Rangers. If Hughes is out even two weeks, it would mean he misses eight games.

Kraken place leading scorer Andre Burakovsky on IR

NEWARK, N.J. >> The Seattle Kraken placed leading scorer Andre Burakovsky on injured reserve Thursday with a lower body injury.

Burakovsky’s leg appeared to buckle on zone entry on his first shift of Tuesday’s game against the New York Islanders, and he played just 31 seconds in the 4-0 loss.

Burakovsky had appeared in 49 of the first 50 games in his first season with Seattle after signing as a free agent. He leads the Kraken with 39 points, including 13 goals and 26 assists, and is averaging a career-high 16 minutes and 33 seconds of ice time per game. He’s one of six skaters for Seattle with at least 30 points this season.

The Kraken activated defenseman Justin Schultz off injured reserve ahead of Thursday night’s game against New Jersey after missing six games with an undisclosed injury.