Hughes and Sharangovich help Devils beat Canucks 5-2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Yegor Sharangovich and Jack Hughes each scored and had an assist to help the New Jersey Devils beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Nico Hischier, Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer also had goals for the Devils (7-3-0), who won their fourth game in a row for the first time since October 2018.

Bo Horvat replied for the Canucks (2-6-2) with a pair of power-play goals. J.T. Miller contributed helpers on both tallies.

New Jersey netminder Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves and improved his career record against Vancouver to 5-0-0.

Thatcher Demko stopped 32-of-36 shots for Vancouver.

The result snapped a two-game win streak for the Canucks, who lost seven in a row to start the season.

Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau pulled his goalie with less than two minutes left and Hughes scored on the empty net.

Vancouver made a late push, pulling Demko in favor of an extra attacker after New Jersey’s Ryan Graves was called for holding with 3:34 left on the game clock.

The move paid off when Horvat buried his second of the night with a one-timer from the high hash marks at the 17:12 mark, cutting the deficit to 4-2.

NEW FACES

Defenceman Ethan Bear and centre Jack Studnicka made their debuts for Vancouver after being acquired in separate trades last week. Star blue liner Quinn Hughes returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury.

NEW THREADS

The Canucks wore their new navy blue “Johnny Canuck” reverse retro jerseys. The sweaters pay homage to the team’s namesake, a lumberjack-looking character called Johnny Canuck, which served as the team’s logo when it entered the Western Hockey League in 1945.

UP NEXT

New Jersey: At Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Vancouver: Hosts Anaheim on Thursday.

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