Coming off their first win of 2026 on Wednesday, the Canucks will be shooting for consecutive victories for the first time on December 19th (at New York Islanders) and December 20th (at Boston Bruins).

What we saw

The Canucks held an optional morning skate this morning. Filip Chytil was among those taking part, and the 26-year-old Czech will return to the Canucks lineup tonight after missing 44 games with a head injury. Chytil has been skating with the team since the Christmas break and now has medical clearance to return to game action for the first time since October 19th. He will start tonight’s game on a line between Drew O’Connor and Brock Boeser. Chytil scored twice on opening night against the Calgary Flames and has three goals in the six games he has appeared in this season.

Rink Wide: Vancouver

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“I’m not expecting to come back and fly around first shift.” Filip Chytil talks about finding his game as he returns to the lineup tonight against the New Jersey Devils.

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7:20 PM · Jan 23, 2026

The Opponent

The Devils arrive here after a pair of 2-1 victories in Alberta. They beat Calgary in overtime on Simon Nemec’s goal on Monday and followed that up with a regulation win in Edmonton on Tuesday. Overall, the Devils have won four of their past five games.

Against the Oilers, Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass each had a goal and an assist while Jake Allen made 21 saves in net.

Nico Hischier leads the Devils with 15 goals, and he and Jesper Bratt share the team lead with 37 points while Jack Hughes has 31 points in the 32 games he’s played this season. The Devils are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, sitting 29th in the NHL in goals per game (2.56). They have six goals in regulation time in their last four outings.

On Wednesday, New Jersey placed Luke Hughes on the injured list with a shoulder issue suffered in Calgary.

Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom have nearly identical win-loss records, but their individual statistics are vastly different. Allen is 12-11-1 with a 2.61 GAA and a .909 save percentage, while Markstrom is 13-11-1, but with a 3.27 GAA and an .882 save percentage.

Amanda Stein

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Jacob Markstrom is in the #NJDevils starters' net here in Vancouver. Expect him to get the nod against the Canucks tonight.

7:32 PM · Jan 23, 2026

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The Devils have two more wins on the road than they do at home. Their road record this season is 14-13. Dawson Mercer leads New Jersey with 10 road goals. With eight, Nico Hischier is the only other player on the roster with more than six road goals.

News and notes

The Canucks beat the Devils 2-1 in New Jersey on December 13th in the team’s first game following the Quinn Hughes trade. It was the first victory on a four-game win streak. Newcomer Zeev Buium had a goal and an assist in his Canucks debut.

The referees for tonight’s game are Tom Chmielweski and Carter Sandlak.

What we heard

Adam Foote on knowing how much it means to Filip Chytil to get back in the lineup: “Compared to my first conversations when it (the injury) happened and a month after, it was tough to see him in that state. To see where he is now, he’s so happy and so pumped that he can play hockey. His energy. He’s just smiling. It’s nice to see. The players can feel it. He was coming on at camp and at the beginning of the season and he was really at a nice spot. We’re not going to put too much pressure on him. It may take a few games to get into it. We’ll see.”

Filip Chytil on absorbing contact at practice to get ready for his return: “You can get as much contact as you can in practice, but it’s never like a game. Even with teammates, when I tell them to push more, they always were a little bit more careful. They were nice to me, but sometimes it would be better if they were a little harder in those battles. I’m okay. Everything is going in a great direction. I have to be focussed on some details in my game and that’s it. I don’t want to think about any other things.”

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