Mackenzie Blackwood continued his dominance over the Vancouver Canucks.
Blackwood made 30 saves, while Wayne Simmonds and Jesper Bratt scored 22 seconds apart in the first period, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 victory over the Canucks on Sunday.
“It feels like he’s unbeatable every time he faces us,” said Vancouver captain Bo Horvat. “I don’t know if we’re his favorite team to play against, but you have to give him credit. He made some great saves out there.”
Blackwood has now improved to 4-0 against Vancouver, boasting a .972 save percentage in those games.
“I’m not really sure what it is, but I’ll take it,” Blackwood said. “I’m not going to overthink it. I just treat it like any other game, and it just so happens we’ve been pretty successful against this team. I’ll keep playing them the same way and hope for the same results.”
Devils coach John Hynes had high praise for his goaltender.
“He made the saves we needed when we needed them, and that’s exactly what you want from your goalie,” said Hynes. “He’s looking sharp and finding ways to win games.”
Brock Boeser scored a power-play goal for Vancouver, but the Canucks have now dropped four straight games, going 0-3-1 in that stretch.
“Sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “We’re in a bit of a rut right now. We haven’t found the back of the net in the last few games. Our games have been consistent, though. Statistically, we haven’t fallen off in many areas.”
Simmonds opened the scoring with a power-play goal 8:12 into the first period. Taylor Hall sent a pass into the Canucks’ zone that Kyle Palmieri redirected to Simmonds, who slipped it past goalie Jacob Markstrom. It was only the Devils’ second road power-play goal of the season.
Bratt quickly doubled the lead at 12:10, deflecting Damon Severson’s point shot into the net.
Boeser got the Canucks on the board with 7:20 left in the second period. Taking a pass from J.T. Miller, he used his speed to skate into the Devils’ zone and beat Blackwood with a low shot to the far corner.
Sunday’s game also marked the second NHL meeting between the Hughes brothers—Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes, the 20-year-old defenseman taken seventh overall in the 2018 draft, and New Jersey’s Jack Hughes, the 18-year-old center selected No. 1 overall in 2019. In their previous meeting on Oct. 19, Jack Hughes scored his first NHL goal in a 1-0 win for the Devils. Quinn Hughes earned an assist on Boeser’s goal this time, while Jack was held without a point.
Game Notes
- Vancouver’s Brandon Sutter played in his 701st career game, becoming the sixth member of the Sutter family to reach that milestone.
- The Devils are now 8-0-3 in their last 11 games against Vancouver.
- Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves.
Up Next
- Devils: Host Ottawa on Wednesday night.
- Canucks: Host Nashville on Tuesday night.
