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Canucks Game Day: Dawn of a new era in early Sunday start against the Devils
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Photo credit: © John Jones-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Dec 13, 2025, 22:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 13, 2025, 20:54 EST
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The post-Quinn Hughes era begins for the Vancouver Canucks (11-17-3) as they face the New Jersey Devils (18-13-1) at Prudential Center in Newark NJ. Sunday’s game is set for a 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT opening face off.
As the dust still settles on Friday’s blockbuster deal with Minnesota, the Canucks open a five-game Eastern road trip that will take them up to the holiday break. 

What we know

The Canucks are hoping to have all three players they acquired from the Wild in their lineup. Marco Rossi, who practiced on the top line on Saturday, is questionable. He hasn’t played since November 11th with a lower body injury but is nearing a return to game action. Adam Foote wasn’t certain after practice Saturday if Rossi would get the green light to play against the Devils. He needs to be activated from the injured list and that will require a corresponding move. It could be as simple as placing centre Elias Pettersson on IR retroactive to December 6th. Pettersson participated in practice on Saturday, but is likely to miss his fourth straight game with an upper body injury. 
Liam Öhgren and Zeev Buium are both slated to make their Vancouver debuts. Öhgren skated on a fourth line at Saturday’s practice with Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson while Buium was paired with veteran Tyler Myers. Marcus Pettersson slid into the spot Quinn Hughes vacated on the top defensive pair with Filip Hronek.
Nils Höglander was excused from practice due to illness. He is expected to be ready to go on Sunday afternoon.
The Canucks are coming off a 3-2 loss to Buffalo on Thursday. Kiefer Sherwood snapped a 10-game goal drought and Max Sasson scored on a second period breakaway. Thatcher Demko made 12 saves in his return to the lineup for the first time in a month. He is expected to get the nod in net again on Sunday.
Vancouver has dropped back-to-back games and has just one win in its last seven (1-5-1). The team has three wins in its last 15 outings (3-9-3). Jake DeBrusk’s slump has reached 10 games without a goal, Brock Boeser has one in his last 13 games while Conor Garland has scored once in his last nine games. 
With Hughes no longer with the hockey club and Pettersson still out of the lineup, Kiefer Sherwood will be the team’s leading scorer in uniform on Sunday. He has 17 points this season.
The Canucks are 7-7-2 on the road this season, however they have dropped three straight and four of their last five away from home.

The Opponent

The Devils are playing an afternoon affair for the second straight day. On Saturday, they knocked off Anaheim 4-1 on home ice. Stefan Noesen led the way with a goal and an assist while Paul Cotter, Cody Glass and Connor Brown scored the other goals. Jake Allen made 30 saves for the win. 
New Jersey has won two of its last three games following a five game losing streak. Saturday’s win snapped a five-game home ice losing skid. With things so stacked in the standings, the win over the Ducks moved the Devils from below the playoff bar in the East into the first Wild Card slot. But they’re also just three points out of the Metropolitan Division lead.
The Devils are without a number of key players. Jack Hughes remains on the sideline with a hand injury, leading goal-scorer Timo Meier has taken a personal leave, and on Saturday, it was announced that defenceman Simon Nemec will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Veteran defender Brett Pesce is also injured and has played just nine games this season.
Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with 28 points followed by Nico Hischier with 26. With Meier and his 11 goals away from the club, Hischier, Dawson Mercer and Jack Hughes are all second on the team with 10 goals. 
What was once billed as a battle of the Hughes brothers, Sunday’s game will only feature one. Luke Hughes led the Devils in ice time against Anaheim logging 24:33. The youngest of the brothers has 2+15=17 in 32 games this season.
With Jake Allen in goal against the Ducks, look for former Canuck Jacob Markstrom to get the start on Sunday.

News and notes

The Canucks and Devils split their two meetings last season with the visitor triumphing on both occasions. New Jersey posted a 6-0 win in Vancouver while Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored once in regulation time and then scored the deciding goal in a 4-3 shootout win in Newark. The Devils will make their lone visit to Rogers Arena on January 23rd.
Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Join the live YouTube chat with your thoughts on the hockey game.
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