Hughes bests older brother as Devils rout Canucks

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist to win a showdown with his older brother, and the New Jersey Devils routed the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 on Monday night.

Nico Daws made 36 saves and the Devils scored three times in each of the first two periods, chasing goaltender Jaroslav Halak with six goals on 14 shots.

Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, Jesper Boqvist, Ryan Graves, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, who put up seven goals for the third time in seven games. Nico Hischer had two assists.

Quinn Hughes, a defenseman for the Canucks, was held off the scoresheet. Vasily Podkolzin and Tanner Pearson scored for Vancouver.

The Devils have a 12-game winning streak against Vancouver dating to the 2014-15 season. The last time they lost to the Canucks was Nov. 25, 2014.

The 21-year-old Daws, a third-round draft pick by the Devils in 2020, improved to 3-1-0 this season and won his second straight. He also beat the Penguins 6-1 last Thursday.

The Canucks, who beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, lost for the third time in nine games.

The Devils opened the scoring at 9:15 of the first when Jack Hughes fired a wrist shot past Halak for his 16th goal this season. The 20-year-old Hughes, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, has a seven-game point streak and it was his fourth straight multipoint game.

Sharangovich made it 2-0 at 15:24 with his 13th of the season, with assists to Jack Hughes and Mercer. Sharangovich extended his point streak to seven games, during which he has five goals and six assists.

Mercer made it 3-0 on the power play with his 13th at 17:44.

The Canucks outshot the Devils 13-9 in the first period but left the ice down three.

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