The Devils snapped their two-game skid with a crisp special-teams performance Saturday, putting three power-play goals past Vancouver in a 4-1 win at Prudential Center. Nico Hischier drove the night with two goals and an assist, reaching the 200-goal mark in his NHL career as New Jersey evened its record at 2-2-0.
Devils take over after early Canucks strike
Vancouver opened the scoring at 5:27 of the first period. Linus Karlsson finished a power-play chance from the right hashmarks, giving the Canucks their only lead of the night.
Hischier answered on New Jersey’s man advantage at 8:03, firing from the slot for his first goal of the season. The goal also made him the fifth Devil to hit 200 NHL goals.
- Jesper Boqvist put New Jersey ahead 2-1 at 16:24 of the opening period, knocking home a rebound near the outside of the left post.
- Amadeus Lombardi earned his first NHL point with the primary shot from the slot that created Boqvist’s rebound chance.
- Lombardi joined the Devils in a June 25 trade with the Detroit Red Wings, with New Jersey sending a 2026 fourth-round draft pick the other way.
Power play finishes the job
The Devils went 3-for-4 with the extra skater, a decisive response after consecutive losses. Jesper Bratt extended the lead to 3-1 at 4:36 of the second period, wiring a wrist shot from low in the left circle on another New Jersey power play.
Hischier added his second at 19:50 of the middle frame, snapping a shot from the left post to close the scoring. Bratt finished with a goal and an assist, while Jack Hughes supplied two assists.
Allen settles in for milestone appearance
Jake Allen made 20 saves in his 500th NHL game and gave the Devils key stops before Hischier’s late second-period insurance marker.
- At 12:48 of the second, Allen turned aside Jake DeBrusk’s backhand bid in the slot with his left pad.
- Allen denied DeBrusk again at 15:32, catching a slot-area wrist shot with his glove.
Vancouver fell to 2-4-0 and is now 0-2-0 through the first two stops of a six-game road trip. Leevi Merilainen stopped 31 shots, but his night was interrupted at 14:33 of the first when a skate blade came loose from his boot. Kevin Lankinen entered to complete the period and allowed one goal on three shots.
