Hughton went into the contest with his team having won one, drawn one and lost three of their opening five top-flight games this term and reports suggesting he could be facing the sack if they were beaten at the Britannia Stadium.
Norwich went on to claim a 1-0 victory, moving them up from 17th to 14th in the table.
And afterwards Hughton - who guided the club to 11th last season in his first campaign in charge, and then had his squad bolstered by a considerable spending spree over the summer - admitted he had been under more pressure than usual in the build-up to the fixture due to his side's league position.
Pilkington, meanwhile, made it clear what he thought about the speculation the axe could have been hovering over Hughton.
"It's crazy," the 25-year-old Republic of Ireland international told Press Association Sport.
"I wrote on Twitter asking if it was too early for Paolo Di Canio (the former Sunderland manager, who was sacked on September 22) to go, given we're only five or six games into the season.
"We have brought a lot of new players in and it takes time for them to gel. But you have seen (at Stoke) what we can do."
The lively Pilkington provided the assist for the 34th-minute goal that secured all three points for Norwich, teeing up Jonny Howson, who fired in from outside the box as the Canaries took advantage of sloppy play from their opponents.
The visitors had already hit the bar through Ryan Bennett and were good value for their lead.
Source: PA
Source: PA