NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist to win a showdown with his older brother, and the New Jersey Devils routed the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 on Monday night.
Nico Daws made 36 saves and the Devils scored three times in each of the first two periods, chasing goaltender Jaroslav Halak with six goals on 14 shots.
Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, Jesper Boqvist, Ryan Graves, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, who put up seven goals for the third time in seven games. Nico Hischer had two assists.
Quinn Hughes, a defenseman for the Canucks, was held off the scoresheet. Vasily Podkolzin and Tanner Pearson scored for Vancouver.
The Devils have a 12-game winning streak against Vancouver dating to the 2014-15 season. The last time they lost to the Canucks was Nov. 25, 2014.
The 21-year-old Daws, a third-round draft pick by the Devils in 2020, improved to 3-1-0 this season and won his second straight. He also beat the Penguins 6-1 last Thursday.
The Canucks, who beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, lost for the third time in nine games.
The Devils opened the scoring at 9:15 of the first when Jack Hughes fired a wrist shot past Halak for his 16th goal this season. The 20-year-old Hughes, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, has a seven-game point streak and it was his fourth straight multipoint game.
Sharangovich made it 2-0 at 15:24 with his 13th of the season, with assists to Jack Hughes and Mercer. Sharangovich extended his point streak to seven games, during which he has five goals and six assists.
Mercer made it 3-0 on the power play with his 13th at 17:44.
The Canucks outshot the Devils 13-9 in the first period but left the ice down three.
Podkolzin broke through for Vancouver at 1:36 of the second when he deflected a shot from Travis Hamonic past Daws for his ninth goal.
But then Boqvist answered at 3:08 to restore the three-goal lead for the Devils. The goal was his fifth of the season.
Graves made is 5-1 at 5:07 before Bratt scored again for New Jersey at 6:19. Bratt’s team-best 19th goal ended Halak’s night as Thatcher Demko replaced the 36-year-old netminder, who headed straight to the dressing room.
Demko made 18 saves in relief.
Bratt, who also assisted on Mercer’s goal, leads the Devils with 50 points.
Pearson narrowed the deficit to 6-2 with his 11th goal at 8:14. Pearson has nine points, including five goals, in his last 12 games.
Canucks leading scorer J.T. Miller assisted on Pearson’s goal. Miller has a six-game point streak and has five goals and 11 assists in his last nine games.
Hamilton completed the scoring for the Devils with his eighth goal at 11:42 of the third. It was Hamilton’s first goal since Dec. 29. He was playing his third game after missing 17 with a broken jaw.
NOTES: The Devils haven’t lost to the Canucks at home since Oct. 24, 2013, in a shootout. The teams meet again March 15 in Vancouver. ... It was the 4,000th regular-season game in Canucks history, dating to their first season in 1970-71. ... The Devils are 6-12-2 against Western Conference teams. ... The Devils scratched defensemen Ty Smith, Mason Geertsen and Christian Jaros. … The Canucks scratched Madison Bowey and forwards Jason Dickinson and Phillip Di Giuseppe.
UP NEXT
Canucks: At the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Devils: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
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