The usual “Hughes Bowl” rivalry between the Devils and Canucks took on a bizarre new dynamic in Newark on Sunday afternoon. With Jack Hughes sidelined by injury and Quinn Hughes already traded to the Minnesota Wild,

The New Jersey Devils were rumored by multiple insiders to have made an offer for now Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes. During the process, it became clear that shedding salary is their biggest issue.

The New Jersey Devils spoke about how the penalty kill is serving as a big obstacle for their play, especially after the recent loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

The Devils quickly got on the board when Dawson Mercer led an odd-man rush up ice with Jesper Bratt. Mercer left the puck for the Swedish forward, then connected with Luke Hughes, who rifled a shot from the left circle past Demko to cut Vancouver’s lead to 2-1.

Zeev Buium scored in his first game since being traded to Vancouver, Thatcher Demko stopped 25 of the 26 shots, and the Canucks beat the Devils 2-1 on Sunday.

Bill Guerin was wrist deep in a bowl of meatballs when he completed one of the biggest trades in Minnesota Wild history

The New Jersey Devils had a chance to make it two wins in a row, but they failed miserably against the Vancouver Canucks.