Game Preview #72: New Jersey Devils vs. Vancouver Canucks

It is the Hughes Bowl: Luke versus Quinn. The New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks are each coming off losses and should have a point to prove on the ice tonight. Learn more about the matchup with this game preview.

Welcome to the second Hughes Bowl of the season. Only this time it is Quinn versus Luke. Plus, both teams have their own reasons as to want to take this game.

The Time: 7:30 PM ET

The Broadcast: Streaming Only: ESPN+, HULU, Disney+; Audio: Devils Hockey Radio

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils vs. the Vancouver Canucks

The Last Devils Game: On Saturday night, the Devils hosted Ottawa. The Devils went out there and showed how bad their execution could be. Ottawa figured it out much faster and they eventually figured out Jake Allen. In the second period, Jake Sanderson sent a shot from the halfwall and Brady Tkachuk, after getting inside of Brian Dumoulin, tipped in that shot for the game’s first goal. On the very next shift, no one had Drake Batherson so he redirected a puck from Dylan Cozens to make it 0-2. The Devils got some life a bit after. Tkachuk high-sticked Timo Meier and Nico Hischier punished it with a one-timer to make it 1-2. All for the veteran presence of Stefan Noesen to trip Tyler Kleven in the offensive zone. That was punished when Claude Giroux shot and David Perron tipped in that shot for a 1-3 score. The Devils’ response was a whole lot of not much for the rest of the second period. The Devils tried a bit more in the third. They would eventually get a goal. Erik Haula put in one of the many attempted but unrealized backdoor attempts of the game. The problem was that it happened with 24 seconds left to play. There would be no miracle equalizer. Even though one was close when a Hischier shot hit off Noesen and the puck stayed out thanks to Noesen’s (or Artem Zub’s) skates. The Devils lost 2-3. Jackson recapped the game here.

The Last Canucks Game: On Saturday afternoon, Vancouver went to the World’s Most Overrated Arena to take on Our Hated Rivals. The Canucks either clamped down on them hard or the home team just did not show up. The Canucks out-shot them 11-1 in the first period. Yes, eleven to one. One of those 11 went in. Quinn Hughes deked Matt Rempe out of his skates and put a shot on net; Dakota Joshua banged in the rebound to make it 1-0. All went well as Our Hated Rivals only put up five shots in the second period. One of those did go in. A rare tip-in by Adam Fox on a Braden Schenider shot tied it up at 1-1. The third period came and all of the sudden, both teams found the net. Jonny Brodzinski found the back of the net early in the third to make it 2-1. After 10 minutes of Vancouver scrambling to get in the game, they did when Drew O’Connor scored to tie it up. That lasted for just over a minute when K’Andre Miller put in a go-ahead goal. Brock Boeser tied it up with just under five minutes left to play. Only for Brodzinski to score on the next shift. J.T. Miller secured the loss for Vancouver with an empty net goal. Here’s the kicker: Our Hated Rivals scored four goals in the third period on just six shots. Vancouver had 16 in the third alone. An absolutely brutal loss for Vancouver.

The Last Devils-Canucks Game: These two faced off in Vancouver way, way, way back on October 30. It was an absolutely dominating performance by the Devils. Nico Hischier set the tone with a goal 53 seconds into the first. With seconds left in the period, Jonas Siegenthaler tripped Conor Garland. That set up an early second period goal for New Jersey; a shorthanded dandy from Dawson Mercer. Timo Meier scored shortly after that penalty was killed to make it 3-0. Later on in the first, Ondrej Palat scored his first of the season to make it 4-0. Close to midway through the third, The Big Deal punished a Teddy Blueger penalty to make it 5-0. Over four minutes after that, Tomas Tatar put in a sixth goal for the touchdown. The Canucks just had 20 shots and none went past Jacob Markstrom. It was a commanding 6-0 win by the Devils. Chris recapped the victory here.

The Goal: Once again: puck management is going to be a deciding factor in this game. Whichever team is going to be able to make reads and execute passes better will have an edge. The Canucks can be thought to have this edge ahead of time since they demonstrated that in a big way against Our Hated Rivals. Were it not for Igor Shesterkin, they blow them out of their building on Saturday. But they put the pressure on and I doubt either Jake Allen or Jacob Markstrom will put in a similar performance to bail out a beaten team. Especially since when Ottawa figured it out against the Devils on Saturday, the Devils looked hapless and could only chase the game instead of imposing any kind of will in response until it was too late. The biggest reason why the Devils could not attack as they wished was because their passing, decisions, and puck movement were awful. With Vancouver coming into Newark presumably frustrated and hopefully a Devils team being given the harsh verbals after a pathetic choke against Calgary and Saturday’s stupidness against the Senators, how the puck movement goes will likely tip the scales as to who will take tonight’s game.

The Stakes: Before getting into what Vancouver has been all about as an opponent, let us consider the stakes for this game.

For the New Jersey Devils, they need the points to continue their hold on third in the division. The past two weeks have been favorable with the Devils getting results to pull ahead – beating Columbus twice in regulation – and their direct competition flailing. The Blue Jackets and Our Hated Rivals have fallen off. The Pennsylvanian teams are just spoilers. The New York Islanders, confusing as ever to figure out, are in the mix but not so much for the Devils at this moment. Winning this game will help keep the Devils away from that nonsense and make April more about playoff preparations instead of playoff seeding.

For the Vancouver Canucks, they need the points for their own playoff race. They are going back-and-forth with a pesky St. Louis team for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Calgary and Utah are within one and three points of them as of this writing. In other words, four teams are competing for one playoff spot. Vancouver needs points in the worst way because a bad week could doom them entirely.

This also means that the outside rooting interests are clear. The other Metropolitan teams want the Canucks to win in regulation. The Blues, Flames, and HC faithful want the Devils to win in regulation.

Who Are These Canucks Again?: Great question. The shortest answer I can give is a team being largely carried by future 2027 free agent target Quinn Hughes.

Among the other narratives, that is the most positive and the one to impact this game the most. The big drama between J.T. Miller and forward Elias Pettersson sent Miller out to Manhattan and Pettersson is still not producing at his once stunning pace. Injuries have limited Thatcher Demko from performing. Brock Boeser was not traded by the deadline and GM Patrik Allvin claimed the deals were not good enough. Among all of the issues, Quinn Hughes is having an utterly fantastic season.

If you wonder what Luke Hughes could be one day, Quinn is a fantastic model for him to follow. He does all of the puck handling and skating Luke does but more often and more effectively. Likely a result of his experience since Quinn is 25. Quinn leads his team in scoring with 16 goals and 66 points in 55 games, which also places him third in the entire NHL for scoring by defensemen. When he takes a shift in 5-on-5 hockey, the Canucks out-attempt their opponents 57% of the time, out-shoot them 56% of the time, out-expectedly and out-actually scoring them 56-57% of the time. Quinn Hughes either leads the Canucks or is close to leading the team in those categories. In short: Quinn Hughes is their best player and putting in a near-Hart like effort.

If you know nothing else about Vancouver, then know that Quinn Hughes is their ace and he is absolutely an ace. Pray the New Jersey Devils sign him on July 1, 2027 and let the glory days begin.

The Vancouver Offense: The Canucks offense on paper is a mish-mash of some talented guys with a system that just does not generate much at all. As a result, the team is not exactly an offensive wagon. Check out these team stats from Natural Stat Trick for their 5-on-5 play as of Sunday morning:

• Corsi For (shot attempts for) per 60 minutes: 54.49, 29th in the NHL (Devils are 14th)
• Shots For per 60 minutes: 25.01, 31st in the NHL (Devils are 20th)
• Scoring Chances For per 60 minutes: 23.25, 31st in the NHL (Devils are 8th)
• High Danger Chances For per 60 minutes: 9.29, 31st in the NHL (Devils are 14th)
• Expected Goals For per 60 minutes: 2.28, tied with St. Louis for 27th in the NHL (Devils are 12th)
• Actual Goals For per 60 minutes: 2.26, 24th in the NHL (Devils are tied for 22nd)
• Shooting Percentage: 9.21%, 11th in the NHL (Devils are 21st)

The Canucks have been one of the least prolific offenses in the NHL this season. They do not generate a lot of attempts, shots, or chances. Their otherwise good shooting percentage is held back by their significant lack of volume. Sure, they can go off if the opponent comes out with a terrible effort such as Saturday’s game against Our Hated Rivals. Show up and the Canucks can be defended in the most common situation in hockey.

Their 5-on-5 offense is supplemented by their power play. Their conversion rate of 22.6% (43 for 190) is the 14th best in the NHL. A power play where Quinn Hughes is the straw that stirs the drink (25 power play points) and Jake DeBrusk (11 power play goals), Brock Boeser (8 PPGs), and forward Elias Pettersson (7 PPGs) finishes those milkshakes. All the more reason for the Devils to stay out of the box as much as they can.

In terms of personnel, Quinn Hughes unsurprisingly is the most offensive threat on the scoresheet and in the run of play. There are some other names to be aware of just for how much they have produced and gone forward in 5-on-5.

• Brock Boeser has the shot and the offensive moves to punish teams. He sits third behind Quinn Hughes in total points with 44 and he has 23 goals.
• Jake DeBrusk leads in goals with 24 and leads Vancouver with 55 high danger chances. That suggests he could be a problem around the net.
• Elias Pettersson is certainly not playing up to his massive contract. He’s barely averaging a shot per game in 5-on-5 play. Still, he has the skill to slice and dice defenses, he sits second on the team in total points with 45, he has been on a 6-game point streak, and he still has over 20 5-on-5 points on the team. He also has 44 high danger chances, which is not nothing either. I will add that he was injured in the loss to Our Hated Rivals. So the Devils may not have to contend with him this evening.
• Conor Garland has been a statistical darling. He has the most shots on the team in 5-on-5 play at 110 and his 216 shooting attempts are second only to Quinn Hughes. His quickness on the wing has been a problem for slower defenders. With 17 total goals, he is not someone to ignore.
• Pius Suter has a been a pleasant surprise. His 15 goals in 5-on-5 play is most on the team and he has 20 total goals to join Boeser and DeBrusk at that plateau.
• Most surprising is Keifer Sherwood. He has been absolutely dominating the hit counts with over 383 made. He could very well top 400 by the time the season ends. Has that helped Vancouver much? His on-ice rates suggest not really. But he sits second on the team in 5-on-5 points behind Quinn Hughes. Expect him to be a problem on the forecheck should Vancouver get to have one.

There are pieces here on the Canucks to have a varied attack in theory. In practice, it has been a community effort without much results given the low on-ice rates. What this means for this game is that the Devils do have to be mindful about giving one of these players too much time and space because they can punish it. They can relax a bit that they are not likely going to go out there and dominate unless New Jersey allows it. And again, stay out of the box and do not give DeBrusk, Boeser, Pettersson (if available), etc. chances in 5-on-4 that they may otherwise not get in 5-on-5.

I would add that they may be extra salty tonight. They did just put up 39 shots on net in Manhattan and lost 5-3 to a team they kept to 12 shots. They may want to prove a point in response. Of course, if the Devils can frustrate them early, then they may find it easier to limit them. This is cautionary for the Devils if nothing else. They should also be aware of how good the Canucks have been on defense.

The Vancouver Defense: The Canucks defense has been quite strong this season in 5-on-5 play. Here are their on-ice against rates as a team this season as per Natural Stat Trick:

• Corsi Against (shot attempts for) per 60 minutes: 56.29, 7th in the NHL (Devils are 12th)
• Shots Against per 60 minutes: 25.01, 4th in the NHL (Devils are 11th)
• Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes: 23.74, 2nd in the NHL (Devils are 10th)
• High Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes: 10.14, 11th in the NHL (Devils are 15th)
• Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes: 2.28, tied for 4th in the NHL with Philadelphia (Devils are 17th)
• Actual Goals Against per 60 minutes: 2.40, tied for 18th in the NHL with Carolina and Anaheim (Devils are 11th)
• Save Percentage: 90.40%, 23rd in the NHL (Devils are 11th)

When the team’s best player is a defenseman having a monster season, then that helps the defense. The unit is greater than just Quinn Hughes. Injuries and trades have forced a lot of changes, but the Canucks have held true to defending their blueline very well relative to the rest of the league. Filip Hronek has been a common partner to Quinn Hughes and an excellent defensive defenseman in his own right. Derek Forbort has been a solid third pairing defender. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson has been a fit. Tyler Myers has seen a lot of attempts but not a lot of shots or expected goals his way when he is on the ice. The unit may have undergone many changes and it may not wow anyone on paper. The blueline also just held a NHL team to 12 shots on net in a game.

As much as their defensemen have been solid, their forwards have seemingly helped too. Drew O’Connor has been a solid fit in 5-on-5 for them. Conor Garland, Suter, and Nils Hoglander have very low on-ice rates for expected goals against, which speaks to how the Canucks defend with them. Hoglander may be out for this game as he was also injured in the loss to Our Hated Rivals. That may lighten some of the defense. Forward Pettersson, DeBrusk, hit machine Sherwood, and Dakota Joshua also boast low values themselves. This all suggests that the 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks may not attack a lot as a team (Saturday afternoon notwithstanding) but they are not getting gashed on a nightly basis. I would not expect it even with Hoglander and forward Pettersson end up being out because the team structure will remain. Credit head coach Rick Tocchet and his staff for making that happen.

This defensiveness is also supported by how they handle shorthanded situations. The Canucks have an 82.8% success rate on the penalty kill. That is a bit better than the Devils’ own PK units as well as the fourth best success rate in the NHL as of Sunday morning. They have allowed just 33 goals out of 192 situations. This is further evidence that the Canucks can defend quite well.

What this all means for the Devils is that their own offense could struggle in breaking Vancouver down. Ever since the Jonas Siegnethaler injury, the Devils have been rather bad at generating offense. That plays into the collective hands of the Canucks. If there was ever a night for someone unexpected to step up to win an unexpected matchup, then it is this one. Either that or whatever Jesper Bratt’s line or Nico Hischier’s line manages to finish whatever chances they can create. Based on what Vancouver has done this season, it may not be all that much. Of course, if they can break through the defensive effort, then they may be able to score a heap of goals. After all, the Canucks did just lose 5-3 to a team they held to just 12 shots.

The Vancouver Goaltending: With the 24th best team save percentage in 5-on-5, it may not surprise you to learn that Vancouver’s goaltenders have not been that good. Thatcher Demko was expected to be the man but his season was beset by injuries. As such, the Canucks have been leaning on Kevin Lankinen and Arturs Silovs. Neither has been that good. Here are their numbers at Natural Stat Trick for 5-on-5 play:

• Lankinen, 46 GP, 90.5% 5-on-5 save percentage, (tied for 57th out of 95), -5.80 goals saved above average (78th), 79.5% high-danger save percentage (69th)
• Silovs, 10 GP, 87.8% 5-on-5 save percentage (tied for 83rd), -6.63 goals saved above average (tied for 79th), 84% high-danger save percentage (29th)

Ugly. And for all situations:

• Lankinen, 46 GP, 90.1% all situations save percentage, (40th out of 95), -0.38 goals saved above average (42nd), 80.5% high-danger save percentage (50th)
• Silovs, 10 GP, 86.1% all situations save percentage (85th), -9.40 goals saved above average (85th), 76.2% high-danger save percentage (82nd)

Also ugly. The takeaway here is that no one should fear Kevin Lankinen or Arturs Silovs based on how they have performed this season. Especially not Lankinen, who gave up four goals out of eleven shots on this past Saturday afternoon. Demko has not done well when he was available but this team badly misses his superior performances from the past. Should the Devils get through to the net, then they just need to finish. They should have the confidence to do so. I would not expect either goalie to have a particularly great night based on their seasons or recent play. Neither should you.

Guesses at Changes for the Devils: Per James Nichols, the Devils were off on Sunday. On the one hand, that makes sense. The team will be playing four games in six nights this week including three out of four days on the road. Rest has value. On the other hand, after their losses to Calgary and Ottawa, I think they’ve earned a bag skate. But they did not skate at all. What this means is that any morning skate or afternoon discussions with the coaching staff will yield actual lineup decisions for this game on the Devils’ side.

Against the Senators, the Devils scratched Tomas Tatar, Simon Nemec, and Kurtis MacDermid with Ondrej Palat being out for a potential injury. I can see Tatar and Nemec drawing back in. For who? Take your pick, really. I would think it is high time for Nathan Bastian to get a game off because he has been a whole lot of not much out there for the Devils. While the Devils out-attempted the Sens 5-2 when Bastian took a shift, the shots were just 1-2 in favor of the Sens with a combined expected goal value of 0.15. Again: not much. With 7:16 played, he is not crucial to this lineup. Tatar will at least hustle as he is the embodiment of the phrase “hard work can beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard but not so much when the talent does work hard.” Of course, it may be just as likely that Daniel Sprong also sits for Tatar as Sprong also had a do-next-to-nothing game. Nolan Foote is a darkhorse candidate for the scratch suite since he also contributed very little.

When Dennis Cholowski took a shift against Ottawa, the Devils were out-attempted 6-7, out-shot 2-5, and out-xG’ed 0.16-0.53. Fine if you are fine with a Nothing Much Happens defender, not so fine if you think the Devils need something like an offense. Nemec can at least provide that provided he is given the chance. This would require Sheldon Keefe and his staff to let it happen as well as Nemec to play like he has earned it. If we are going to go by performances against Ottawa to make the decision, Brenden Dillon absolutely earned a night off. The Devils were out-shot 2-7 with him on the ice as well as out-chanced 2-6. But that will not happen as he is a Veteran with Experience and that has helped the Devils oh so much in recent weeks. If there is no switch, then so it goes and Cholowski will amble about there for another evening.

As for the net, I think Markstrom gets another chance. Allen conceding three goals on 19 shots does cool him off a bit. I do not think he had a real chance at any of them. But he also put himself out of position a few times and was about to be beaten twice only for the post or Curtis Lazar to deny an easy score for Ottawa. I think we’ll continue to see a trade off until one goalie really locks it down.

As ever, these are guesses and I could be wrong.

Other Devils I Want Better From: All of them? I am only half-joking. There are a number I specifically want to see better from.

• Jonathan Kovacevic. Sure, he ended up having great 5-on-5 numbers against Ottawa. All you have to do is ignore his rock-stupid delay of game penalty and the fact that he did not really contribute much himself to those 5-on-5 numbers with two shooting attempts and none on net. Not that you look to Kovacevic for offense but if we’re going to praise him for the Devils out-attempting and out-shooting the Sens 14-5 and 7-1, respectively, when he was out there, then we need to point out that it was not really from him. You also would have to ignore that Kovacevic has been not been locking it down on defense in his last 7 games given his 5-on-5 xGA/60 of 2.94 – third highest to his partner Mr. Second and Traff, Brian Dumoulin and Nemec.
• Timo Meier. I understand its March and he scores in March and he had one (1) shot on net out of four (4) attempts against Ottawa. With the offensive talent being limited on this roster, it is imperative that he brings it night in, night out.
• Brenden Dillon. The most experienced man on the roster in terms of games played and he continues to be a guy who ends up being in his own end a lot because he fails to help the team go forward. Ottawa was another such night given the 5-on-5 on-ice results of 7-10 attempts in favor of Ottawa and shots being 2-7. Oh, and a GA too. Since questioning leadership is now a thing among the People Who Matter, let me ask: Why does this guy have a letter?
• Stefan Noesen. Another player who got out-performed in 5-on-5 and took a rock-stupid offensive zone penalty that turned a 1-2 situation into a 1-3 situation on the scoreboard. For what in response? 2 shots on net with little chance of going in? He is a complementary forward and that is fine but he needs to complement his teammates well. Perhaps that explains why he is not on PP1 anymore. Without being carried by others, he cannot do so much.
• Luke Hughes. Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce are getting the hardest matchups since trusting Kovacevic-Dumoulin is foolish and the third pairing is whatever is left. It has not gone great! And while Luke Hughes is a generator of offense, his reads have been all over the place. It is like he is emulating Damon Severson more than his older brother Quinn with some his giveaways or misses. I need him to be more decisive, more aware, and, most of all, more willing to take in breakouts instead of that rock-stupid slingshot pass.
• Dawson Mercer. Mercer, on the surface, looked like he had a very fine game. But he remains with zero points in six games on a team that badly needs offensive production outside of Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier. Devils need more than just two shots on net out of three attempts in 18 minutes of ice time from him. It would also be great if he stopped getting in his own teammates’ way on plays, which undercut his game against Ottawa over and over.
• Sheldon Keefe and Coaching Staff. The last three games have featured the Devils getting rocked in the third period, the third period, and the second period, respectively. This is not to say that the first period has been great in those games either. It is on the coaching staff to prepare the players and make adjustments as the games go on. Whatever he is saying at intermission and whatever he is doing is not working so well. And the responses certainly were not there when goals against do happen. He is right to criticize his own players. He is also worthy of criticism too. Going out and not getting out-coached by Tocchet would be a start.

I am sure there are many others that deserve a call out. These are just the names that stuck out to me since the last game and other recent games.

One Final Note: Here is Ottawa’s roster by games played and age. I’m using Stein’s lines from the start of that game.

28, 611 GP – 26, 517 GP – 32, 435 GP

34, 748 GP – 25, 245 GP – 26, 542 GP

24, 26 GP – 23, 317 GP – 28, 367 GP

25, 205 GP – 30, 567 GP – 27, 270 GP

21, 146 GP – 30, 689 GP

27, 214 GP – 33, 695 GP

34, 963 GP – 27, 153 GP

34, 456 GP

35, 527 GP

And if Tatar draws in, add a 34 year old with 917 games played for whomever he goes in for.

I really, really, really do not want to read or hear about how the Devils need to learn how to play or get experience or get mature. This team has plenty of age and experience. Soft Tom made this team older and more experience on purpose. They should know better than how they have been playing as of late.

Your Take: The Devils will have a game to get right before they hit the road. The Vancouver Canucks have every reason to go hard between their playoff situation and what happened on Saturday. I expect a tough matchup. What do you expect? Will the Devils be able to get out in front and not lose the lead? Will the effort be smarter tonight? Can the Devils generate more offense more often? Will Jonathan Kovacevic have a good game? Who will win this game? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about this game in the comments. Thank you for reading.