The New Jersey Devils (12-10-1) defeated the Vancouver Canucks (16-9-1) 6-5 on Tuesday night. The win was New Jersey’s fourth in the last five games. It was also the Devils’ third straight over Vancouver.
Game Summary
First Period
It was a strong start for the Devils, who began on the front foot, and that paid off with an early lead.
Jonas Siegenthaler sprung Jesper Bratt who led a two-on-one with Nico Hischier. Bratt faked a pass and fired a wrist shot past Thatcher Demko making it 1-0 Devils just four minutes in.
However, that lead was short-lived. Colin Miller was called for a trip and on the ensuing power play, J.T. Miller buried a rebound from in front to tie the game.
The Devils punched back quickly, though. Just a minute and a half after the Miller goal, Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli won the puck on the forecheck, and Hughes fired a pass through the slot to a wide-open Erik Haula. Haula took his time and roofed the puck past Demko, making it 2-1 Devils midway through the frame.
Vancouver nearly equalized again on another power play, but Vitek Vanecek made a great pad save to deny Brock Boeser on a rebound in tight. Then, Nico Hischier blocked a Andrei Kuzmenko shot that was destined for the open net, and the Devils completed the kill.
The Devils continued to push for another goal. Jack Hughes told Kevin Bahl and John Marino to switch points on an offensive zone draw. Hughes promptly won the faceoff to Bahl and received a give-and-go feed in front of the net and scored. It was 3-1 Devils with three minutes left in the first.
Then, with 1:18 to go, Michael McLeod made it 4-1, stashing home a rebound in front of the net.
However, Vancouver clawed one back when Dakota Joshua buried a rebound of his own to cut the deficit to 4-2 in the dying seconds of the period.
After one, shots were 13-9 in favor of Vancouver, but the Devils posted a 55.17 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 58.57 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
The second period was much less eventful with both teams focused on tightening up their play.
In the latter half of the frame, both teams failed to score on a power play, and the score remained 4-2 Devils. However, New Jersey had one more chance on a power play in the final minute.
The Devils capitalized on that power play as well. Jack Hughes picked up a loose puck and fed his brother Luke at the top of the circle, and Luke picked out the corner. It was 5-2 Devils with seconds to go in the second period, and things were looking good.
In the second, shots were 10-7 Devils. New Jersey only posted a 47.37 CF% and a 29.41 xGF% at five-on-five, though.
Third Period
It was a strong start to the third for New Jersey. The Devils killed off an early power play and maintained a three-goal lead with 13 minutes to play.
However, the Canucks got back into the game thanks to some sloppy play. Jonas Siegenthaler tried to reverse a puck in the defensive zone that was intercepted and centered to Brock Boeser who was all alone in front. Boeser made no mistake, potting his league-leading 18th goal and cutting the Devils’ lead to 5-3.
Then, with just over six minutes to play, Quinn Hughes fired a wrister through traffic that was deflected by Sam Lafferty in front past Vitek Vanecek. It was now a one goal game.
A strong Tyler Toffoli forecheck led to a chance in front, but Demko made a nice save to keep it 5-4, and with 3:36 to go, Vancouver completed the comeback.
Vitek Vanecek kicked a sharp angle Quinn Hughes shot right into the slot and a wide-open Nils Hoglander buried the rebound, tying the game at five.
However, this game was far from over. With seconds to go, Nico Hischier deflected a Kevin Bahl shot on net, and Jesper Bratt made no mistake on the rebound. The Devils were back in front 6-5 with 36 seconds to go. Vitek Vanecek made one last save as time expired, and the Devils took home the two points.
In the third, shots were 13-13, and despite the Canucks’ comeback, the Devils had a 62.86 CF% and a 57.06 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
For the game, shots were 33-32 Vancouver while at five-on-five, the Devils had a 56.63 CF% and a 52.30 xGF%.
Vitek Vanecek did not play particularly well, but got the win, stopping 28 of 33 shots. He allowed 0.36 goals above expected.
Meanwhile, Thatcher Demko got the loss for Vancouver, allowing 2.53 goals above expected. He stopped just 26 of 32 shots. He entered the night second in the league in goals saved above expected.
Also of note, all three Hughes brothers recorded at least one point in their first time all playing in the same NHL game. Jack and Luke both lit the lamp for the Devils.
Game Notes
Haula Strong in Return to Lineup
Erik Haula had an impressive night in his return to action after missing the last three games. He led all Devils’ skaters with a 75.00 CF% and a 73.22 xGF%. Playing alongside Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli for most of the night, Haula also had an 11-5 edge in scoring chances and a 4-2 edge in high-danger scoring chances while on the ice at five-on-five.
Haula also scored his seventh of the season in the first period. The only real negative about his game was that he took two minor penalties. However, the Devils were able to kill both of them off.
Third Line Struggles
While Haula looked solid on Tuesday night, the third line of Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Alexander Holtz did not. The trio played 10:01 together at five-on-five and posted a brutal 15.32 xGF%. They were the only New Jersey forward line below 50% in that regard.
With that line on the ice, Vancouver had a 7-2 edge in scoring chances and a 4-1 edge in high-danger chances at five-on-five. Lindy Ruff may be hesitant to shake up any of the other New Jersey lines, but don’t be surprised to see some sort of shake-up on that third line against Seattle on Thursday.
Bahl-Marino Pair Solid
Outside of Erik Haula, Kevin Bahl and John Marino were the only other New Jersey skaters to finish with a CF% north of 70 at five-on-five. Both also posted a xGF% north of 63. Scoring chances and high-danger chances were also 66.67% or greater with the duo on the ice in the Devils’ favor. They were the top two among all Devils’ defensemen in all of these categories.
What’s Next
The Devils continue their road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night. Puck drop is set for 10:30 p.m. ET and will be exclusively aired on ESPN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.