The Devils are sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 12-10-1.
The New Jersey Devils jumped back into the win column Tuesday night at Rogers Arena after earning a 6-5 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
Jesper Bratt (2), Jack Hughes, Erik Haula, Michael McLeod, and Luke Hughes scored for New Jersey. At the same time, J.T. Miller, Dakota Joshua, Brock Boeser, Sam Lafferty, and Nils Hoglander found the back of the net for Vancouver.
The Devils' coaching staff gave Vitek Vanecek the nod in the net. The 27-year-old made 28 saves on 33 shots, earning a .848 save percentage en route to his ninth win of the 2023-24 campaign.
Entering the game, the Canucks scored the first goal of the game 17 times this season, the most times in the NHL this season. Vancouver was 13-4-0 when they scored first, and with slow starts plaguing the Devils, it was imperative they scored the game's opening goal. A mere 3:40 into the first period, they did just that courtesy of Bratt.
That goal opened the floodgates, and after 20 minutes, six combined goals were scored, with New Jersey heading to the first intermission with a 4-2 lead.
Luke Hughes scored a power-play goal with less than a minute remaining in the second period, earning his first point of the "Hughes Bowl." It set the stage for New Jersey to enter the final frame with a 5-2 lead, but what is it that is said about a three-goal lead in hockey? It's the most dangerous lead.
The Canucks fired 13 shots at Vanecek in the final 20 minutes, and three of them resulted in goals. The Devils found themselves in a tie game with three and a half minutes remaining.
New Jersey narrowly escaped overtime as Bratt's wrist shot got past Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko with 33 seconds left in the game to secure the win.
"I know late in the game, things happen, and people start drifting away sometimes. I was trying to get lost," Bratt said. "Vancouver had two of those where someone sifts pucks to the net, and someone on the backside is ready to tap it in. I'm just happy to contribute to the team tonight."
Something interesting to note about Tuesday's game is how eerily familiar it was to the last time these two met on Feb. 6, 2023, at Prudential Center. In both games, New Jersey secured a multi-goal lead but surrendered three unanswered goals, allowing Vancouver to tie things up. Last night, the Devils squeaked out a win in the final seconds of regulation, and in February, the Devils won in overtime. Jesper Bratt had both game-winners, and Jack Hughes finished the night with three points.
Five Things
1. The Hughes Bowl Was Worth the Hype
Jim and Ellen Hughes were two of the 18,983 hockey fans inside Rogers Arena who watched NHL history as Quinn, Jack, and Luke Hughes skated in the same game for the first time in their career.
Per NHL Pr, "The Hughes' became the second American family to have three or more brothers appear in the same NHL game. In 1989-90, Neal, Paul, and Aaron Broten skated together when the North Stars met the Rangers on Febr. 4, 1990, and Mar. 10, 1990."
All three brothers made an impact as Jack finished the game with three points (one goal, two assists), Luke scored his first goal against Vancouver, and Quinn collected two assists in the third period.
2. Simon Nemec Continues to Take Advantage of Opportunity
Simon Nemec, 19, has been holding his own the past two games. He finished the game with 21:43 of ice time, which was third-highest on the team behind Jonas Siegenthaler and John Marino. Most notably, his 02:52 of shorthanded ice time was more than Marino and Kevin Bahl.
3. Costly Mistakes Continue for New Jersey
It is never a good thing to see a three-goal lead slip away, but at the end of the day, two points are two points, regardless of how they are earned.
"We did a lot of things well. We made a couple of mistakes that hurt us, but we stayed with it. We got a puck to the goaltender late and got the bounce. You look at some of their goals, and they got the same bounce," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "I'm pretty sure that both coaches aren't really excited about giving up leads or fighting back, but the two points are big for us."
4. Haula Makes Impact in Return
Erik Haula returned from injury and wasted no time contributing to his team's win. He earned his seventh goal for the season, which provided the Devils with a 2-1 lead in the first period, and finished the game with a faceoff win percentage of 77.8 (7/9).
5. Ondrej Palat's Milestone
Ondrej Palat, who was selected in the seventh round, 208th overall, reached an impressive milestone versus the Canucks. The 32-year-old skated in his 700th career NHL game, playing under 18 minutes. He became one of 41 Czechia natives all-time who played in 700, or more, career regular-season NHL games.