G13 New Jersey Devils @ Vancouver Canucks: The Hughes Bowl

The three Hughes brothers are healthy and ready to make their presence felt in a battle between two very good teams.

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A few notes to get you set for this season’s first edition of the Hughes bowl:

Hughes a Canucks killer 🐋

Jack Hughes has really taken his game up a notch of late. He has piled up 37 (5v5) shot contributions over the past three games and leads the New Jersey Devils in total attempts and shots on goal during that span. He has looked a lot more like the guy we’ve grown accustomed to watching over the past couple of years. And there’s reason to expect more of the same against Vancouver.

The obvious reason is the extra pep in his step we’ll see in a battle of the Hughes brothers. He always gets up for these games. Always.

He has produced at least two points in five straight against Vancouver, over which time he’s averaged six shots per game. No matter how well the Canucks have played before or after a game against Jack, they’ve had no answer for him.

But there’s more to it than that. The Canucks rank 12th in total pace at 5v5, which is actually higher than the Devils do. They also sit 21st in shots against at 5v5. They are a decent matchup for creating offense.

Moreover, they’ve struggled to defend opposing centers. The Canucks are allowing 11.33 shots per game to the position. That’s the 6th highest mark in the NHL this season.

In short, Hughes is playing his best hockey of the season, he has the extra juice that comes from facing his older brother, he has a long track record of torching the Canucks, and they are actually a decent matchup for volume shooters – especially centers.

Win or lose, I expect Jack Hughes will make noise in this one.

Markstrom in the danger zone ⚠️