By Canadian Press

Miller, Pettersson score twice as Canucks burn Devils 6-4

Jan 6, 2024 | 8:23 PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson each scored twice and Quinn Hughes added three assists to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 6-4 victory over the pesky New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

The game was supposed to be the second matchup of the three Hughes brothers in an NHL game but it never happened as Devils All-Star centre Jack Hughes was sidelined by an upper-body injury sustained on Friday.

That left Luke Hughes of the Devils and Quinn Hughes to square off and the Canucks dominated with New Jersey coming off a physical game at home on Friday night that saw No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks sustain a fractured jaw.

Conor Garland scored a back-breaking goal for the Canucks late in the second period after the Devils cut down a 3-0 deficit to a goal and Thatcher Demko made 21 saves in his 100th career NHL win.

The Devils won the first meeting between all three Hughes brothers in Vancouver 6-5 on Dec. 5.

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Colin Miller scored twice and Erik Haula and Brendan Smith once for New Jersey, which was outshot 42-25. Nico Daws made 36 saves for the Devils, who are now 1-7-1 in the second of back-to-back games.

After a scoreless first period, the Canucks jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening 4:37 of the middle period. Pettersson scored on a deflection at 41 second and J.T. Miller converted twice in a 64 second span.

Haula cut the gap with 3-2 with 23 seconds left in the period but Garland tallied on a wraparound 12 seconds later.

Pettersson seemed to put the game out of reach early in the third period, scoring in close for his 17th goal and a 5-2 lead.

However, Colin Miller and Smith scored in under a two-minute span to make the final seven minutes interesting.

New Jersey had a late power play but Dakota Joshua iced the game with an empty-net goal with 1:11 to go.

UP NEXT

Canucks: At the New York Rangers on Monday.

Devils: At Tampa Bay on Thursday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tom Canavan, The Associated Press