Devils 7, Canucks 2: Déjà vu in another lopsided loss in New Jersey

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We know where the bodies are buried.

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Try the Prudential Center.

The Vancouver Canucks not only lost their way Monday with a series of puck-handling gaffes and suspect goaltending against the New Jersey Devils — a stunning development after a sterling 5-2 victory at Madison Square Garden on Sunday — they added to the mystique of how people tend to disappear in the swamp lands of New Jersey.

The Canucks dug a 3-0 hole in the first period en route to a sobering 7-2 loss to mark the seventh-straight setback in Newark where they’ve been outscored 26-11 over that stretch.

It’s also been a dozen games since they got the upper hand on the Devils. You have to dial it back to Nov. 25, 2014 when Alex Burrows and Shawn Matthias scored and Ryan Miller made 20 saves in a 2-0 home-ice triumph.

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On Monday, it was more misery — which has become commonplace against the Devils.

NEXT GAME

thursday

Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders

4:30 pm, UBS Arena. TV: Sportsnet. Radio: Sportsnet 650

New Jersey struck twice in a span of 1:59 of the second period to crush a brief early spurt where Vasily Podkolzin finished off a double deflection of a Travis Hamonic point shot.

How ugly was it?

Jaroslav Halak was playing too deep, looked out of sync and demoralized and was hooked in the second period after the Devils went up 6-1. Turnovers didn’t help. He would stop just eight of 14 shots and his season of misery in his 10th start will draw more attention with that performance bonus. It was the perfect storm.

“I don’t have a theory, quite frankly,” said Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau. “We talk about it and the preparation for the day and I don’t have an answer for it. I rack my brain over why in some games we play so good in the first period and in others — and in most of the year — if something bad is going to happen, it’s going to be in the first period.

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“To not come out the way we were supposed to come out is shocking to me. Our gaps are definitely a problem and the speed they had, they came at us pretty good and we weren’t adjusting to it.”

Jack Hughes, Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, Jesper Boqvist, Ryan Graves, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton scored for the Devils while Tanner Pearson had the other Canucks goal.

It was the kind of night where the new hockey operations department has to wonder what it has inherited, even though the Canucks had won five of six games and six of eight entering Monday.

“We didn’t match them at all, got down quick and were chasing,” said Canucks winger Conor Garland. “It’s unacceptable in a game like this and a situation like this. We have to get playing the way we need to and that’s why we were down in the first.

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“Chasing games is not a recipe for success in the NHL and you get into a track meet with them and that’s what they want to do. We couldn’t let it get to three (goals) and get out of hand early.

“And nothing is on our goalie. We have to play better in front of him and for us to play like that, it’s tough to do that to him. He works hard in practice and doesn’t get in much and for us to play like that is a bad look.”

Here’s what we learned as the Canucks now face the New York Islanders on Thursday in the third stop of a four-game trip:

HALAK’S HOUSE OF HORRORS

Hughes got to Halak midway through the opening period when he looked off Dawson Mercer on a 2-on-1 and went glove side. The sequence was started by Oliver Ekman-Larsson coughing up the puck with a bad O-zone pass.

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Between a lack of communication and often looking off balance by being prone in the crease, it didn’t get any better for Halak. After Nils Hoglander was denied, a blind pass by Tyler Myers in the D-zone resulted in a tic-tac-dough play and a Sharangovich snap far side.

And after Tyler Motte missed a short-handed chance on a 2-on-1 break with Quinn Hughes, Mercer was left wide open at the side of the net on the power play.

The Devils countered the Podkolzin tip early in the second period when Boqvist bolted around Hughes and shoved his chance far side on Halak, who was deep and should have tried the poke-check.

A Graves point shot then went off the leg of Luke Schenn and deflected by a helpless Halak for two goals in under two minutes. Bratt then scored to bring out the hook.

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“Once the first period was over and with what was said, you needed to save in the second period,” stressed Boudreau. “We scored the first goal of the second and they scored and it was a back-breaker. And the sixth one, I think at that point he was just done.

“It was just a simple shot and he missed. I’m concerned because the last two games have been pulled after giving up five in one period and six in a little bit more than a period tonight. There’s obviously a level of concern, but he’s a professional and he has gone through this before. Hopefully, he’ll bounce back.”

Halak’s US$1.25 million performance bonus kicked in Monday. There’s an additional $250,000 for a save percentage better than .905, but he was just .899 entering Monday. A no-movement clause for the stopper hasn’t helped matters.

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The Canucks could apply the bonus or bonuses to next year’s salary cap, if they can’t resolve cap challenges, or trade them after the season and give up something in the process.

JACK TOPS QUINN AGAIN

It’s always marquee material when young star siblings square off.

Especially when it’s been more than two years since Quinn and Jack matched creative wits for Hughes family bragging rights.

In their first NHL encounter, Jack scored his first career goal in a 1-0 home-ice triumph on Oct, 19, 2019. The Devils then won 2-1 in Vancouver on Nov. 10, 2019.

Then came COVID-19 and a long hiatus before Jack reminded everybody Monday how much his game has grown.

After missing 17 games with a left shoulder separation early this season, he has exploded for seven goals in his last dozen games and he also started the scoring sequence on the second goal Monday.

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