Hischier’s 200th goal leads Devils past Canucks 4-1

Linus Karlsson was in the high slot when the pass arrived. At the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on October 10, 2026, the New Jersey Devils were killing a hooking penalty assessed to Anthony Mantha four and a half minutes into the first period. The call had come in the neutral zone. On the ensuing Vancouver power play, Brock Boeser moved the puck to Karlsson, with Jake DeBrusk also on the sequence. From the side of the high slot, Karlsson one-timed the shot. It beat Jake Allen. Canucks 1-0.

The goal arrived near the halfway point of the kill, a single power-play strike that opened the scoring before the period had run long. New Jersey, short-handed when the puck crossed the line, faced the remainder of the opening frame down a goal on home ice.

Leevi Meriläinen’s skate blade failed in the middle of the first period. The equipment crew could not fix it. Meriläinen left the ice with 5:27 remaining, and Kevin Lankinen was forced into the Vancouver net. The score stayed 1-0. New Jersey had entered the night among the league’s lowest-scoring teams, with just six goals across three games and one power-play conversion in fourteen tries. The Devils had trailed 1-0 in each of their first four contests. Vancouver sat in the middle of a six-game road trip, still holding the early lead after the goaltending change.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki was called for high-sticking Brett Pesce, and New Jersey went to the power play. Nico Hischier won the faceoff that opened the man advantage. Jesper Bratt’s pass to the point was immediately picked off and cleared. The Devils took three turns to get full possession back in the offensive zone, most of the first unit’s time slipping away in the process. When they did get back in and the passes began to connect, Nico Hischier took a pass in the bumper and scored. The bumper is the forward who works the middle of the power-play formation, the station between the point men and the crease. From there Hischier finished the chance and tied the game at 1-1.

The goal was his first of the night and his first point of the season. It was New Jersey’s second power-play goal in fifteen attempts. It was his 200th career NHL goal. He scored it in his 613th game. Hischier became the fifth Swiss player to reach 200 career NHL goals, and he reached the total second-fastest among that group. Linemate Timo Meier had scored his 200th in 569 games. In the 2026 offseason Hischier signed a five-year, $58.5 million contract extension that becomes active for the 2027-28 season.

Filip Hronek skated backwards with the puck in his own zone and fanned on the pass. Amadeus Lombardi stripped it and shot. Kevin Lankinen let the puck leak through. Jesper Boqvist poked the rebound in at 16:24 of the first. The Devils led 2-1. It was their first regulation lead of the season. The finish gave Lombardi, the rookie right wing on the fourth line, his first career point.

Leevi Meriläinen returned to start the second. Brock Boeser took a hooking penalty a few minutes in, and New Jersey went back to the power play. In a scramble at the Canucks crease, Jesper Bratt’s shot from a sharp angle ricocheted off Vancouver bodies and found the net. The score went to 3-1. Late in the period Bratt drew traffic to the slot and moved the puck down low. Jack Hughes feathered a pass across the crease. Hischier finished the tic-tac-toe at the side of the net with roughly ten seconds left. New Jersey led 4-1. The Devils had gone 3-for-4 on the power play. Bratt finished with a goal and an assist, Hughes with two assists, and Boqvist with the fourth-line finish that first put them ahead.

Evan Rodrigues knocked Marco Rossi down with his stick at center ice when Rossi hit him with a glove. Officials reviewed the sequence for a spearing major. What they assessed instead was a double-minor for high-sticking. The call drew an immediate note from @GinoHard_: Evan Rodrigues has been assessed a double-minor for "high-sticking" on Marco Rossi 😬

Jake Allen made 20 saves in his 500th career NHL game. Leevi Meriläinen finished with 31 saves. Meriläinen and Kevin Lankinen combined to stop 33 shots. The Devils snapped a two-game losing skid and secured their second win of the season. Vancouver absorbed its third consecutive loss. Across those three games the Canucks were outscored 14-5. They remained in the middle of a six-game road trip, with four contests still packed into the next six nights. Sunday took them to the New York Rangers. New Jersey would host Ottawa on Monday night.

The final score was Devils 4, Canucks 1. After the horn at Prudential Center, Jack Hughes congratulated Jake Allen on the ice.