{"id":430016,"date":"2026-01-24T10:13:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/430016\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T10:13:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:13:06","slug":"canucks-battle-back-late-but-lose-5-4-to-devils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/430016\/","title":{"rendered":"Canucks battle back late but lose 5-4 to Devils"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at\u00a0CanucksArmy<\/a>\u00a0where we give you our instant reaction to tonight\u2019s\u00a0Vancouver Canucks<\/a>\u00a0game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!Starting Lineup<\/p>\n

Warmup #Canucks<\/a> lines vs. @NJDevils<\/a> <\/p>\n

Kane. EP40. DeBrusk.
\nO\u2019Connor. Chytil. Boeser.
\n\u00d6hgren. Blueger. Garland.
\nH\u00f6glander. K\u00e4mpf. Karlsson.<\/p>\n

EP25. Hronek.
\nBuium. Myers.
\nMP29. Willander.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd45Lankinen\ud83e\udd45 <\/p>\n

7pm on @Sportsnet650<\/a> <\/p>\n

sportsnet.ca\/650<\/a> <\/p>\n

Filip Chytil makes his return to the Canucks lineup tonight with a new tinted visor. Chytil\u2019s been out for 44 games since October 19 against the Capitals.<\/p>\n

Pure bliss being back. \ud83d\ude04 <\/p>\n

First Period<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take all that long for the Devils to carry on the tradititon of other Canucks opponents this season and score the first goal of the hockey game.<\/p>\n

All they needed was a minute and 41 seconds, when rookie Lenni H\u00e4meenaho perfectly read a deflection off the boards behind Kevin Lankinen\u2019s net and knocked it in for his first NHL goal.<\/p>\n

The Devils open the scoring early in the first period.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

1-0 Devils.<\/p>\n

Some takeaways from the first:<\/p>\n

Filip Chytil nearly scored on his first shot! The opportunity was there, he just couldn\u2019t get the finish on it. But he was buzzing all period.Drew O\u2019Connor has been playing his best hockey of late, even if it\u2019s not always translating in the points department. He seems to be scanning the ice better and creating more opportunities.The defense and penalty kill remain pretty suspect. Way too much standing around and missed assignments, but you already knew that.Second Period<\/p>\n

The Devils got off to another quick start in the second period, thanks to a penalty on Tom Willander for tripping Arseny Gritsyuk (incredible name, by the way). The Devils\u2019 power play got set up, and Jack Hughes found Nico Hischier in the slot top double the Devils lead.<\/p>\n

The Devils take a 2-0 lead on the powerplay.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

2-0 Devils.<\/p>\n

After that, it only took forty seconds from Hischier\u2019s goal for the Devils to reenter the Canucks\u2019 zone, work the puck to H\u00e4meenaho at the blue line, and have him take a shot that Cody Glass deflected and screened Lankinen on.<\/p>\n

And not long after their second, the Devils score again to make it 3-0.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

3-0 Devils.<\/p>\n

But just when you thought they were down and out, back come the Canucks. It starts with Nils H\u00f6glander taking a shot from distance that handcuffs Jacob Markstrom, and Linus Karlsson does a great job following up the rebound.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n

Linus Karlsson bangs home the rebound to put the Canucks on the board.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

3-1 Devils.<\/p>\n

A couple minutes later, with Conor Garland in the penalty box serving a high-sticking double minor, the Canucks got a shorthanded chance created by Drew O\u2019Connor and finished by Teddy Blueger. On Wednesday Blueger was everywhere trying to create offence. Tonight he gets on the board with his second goal of the season.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n

In his second game back, Teddy Blueger brings the Canucks within one on the penalty kill.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

3-2 Devils.<\/p>\n

Not to be outdone, the Devils took advantage of the final half of Garland\u2019s penalty by once again victimizing the Canucks\u2019 bad netfront coverage. This time Connor Brown was the lucky recipient to put the Devils back in front by two.<\/p>\n

The Devils get one right back to go up 4-2.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

4-2 Devils.<\/p>\n

But before the period was out the Canucks got back within one, thanks to Zeev Buium\u2019s efforts to cut towards the net and get a shot through traffic that Markstrom stopped. But Buium followed up his rebound and snapped it over the fallen former Canucks goalie.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n

Zeev Buium gets his own rebound and finds the back of the net.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

4-3 Devils.<\/p>\n

Some takeaways from the second:<\/p>\n

Brock Boeser hit the post from distance on a shot. As did Evander Kane late in the third. The posts must really want Gavin McKenna.For a team with a lot of name brand players, the Devils are a very underwhelming roster. There\u2019s not much about them that screams genuine playoff contender.3rd Period<\/p>\n

The third period seemed to breeze by, as the Canucks mounted a good challenge with eight shots to the Devils\u2019 three. But it was New Jersey who found the net again next.<\/p>\n

Timo Meier pounced on a loose puck in the Canucks\u2019 zone with the defense backing up, and poked it to a streaking Cody Glass for a mini breakway. All glass had to do was chip the rolling puck past Lankinen.<\/p>\n

Great save Elias Pettersson!<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

5-3 Devils.<\/p>\n

With time running out and the goalie pulled, the Canucks still got an incredibly key save by Elias Pettersson, who shut down Jesper Bratt with a toe save!<\/p>\n

Great save Elias Pettersson!<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

That led directly to the Canucks storming down the ice, a Linus Karlsson shot that Markstrom kicked out, and Brock Boeser perfectly positioned at the far side to smash in the rebound. Give EP40 the assist!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n

Brock Boeser brings the Canucks within one late in the third.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

The Canucks tried to capture lighting in a bottle twice by pull Lankinen again, but couldn\u2019t find the net again before the buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n

FINAL: 5-4 Devils.<\/p>\n

Some final thoughts:<\/p>\n

This was exactly the kind of effort that you want from a tanking team. They might not have won, but the intensity was there the entire night, the young guys stepped up, and they gave the Devils a legit challenge. That\u2019s the best you can ask for.Teddy Blueger came the closest to tying the game in the dying moments but just couldn\u2019t get the puck on net. Either way, he\u2019s been playing less like a player who\u2019s been out with an injury and more like a player who\u2019s almost 40 games fresher than his teammates.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your instant reaction to this game? Let us know in the comments section below!<\/p>\n

Sponsored by bet365<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at\u00a0CanucksArmy\u00a0where we give you our instant reaction to tonight\u2019s\u00a0Vancouver Canucks\u00a0game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-430016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}