VANCOUVER, BC – It may have been the Hughes Bowl, but it was the Devils captain who stole the show.

Nico Hischier notched a goal and three points against the Vancouver Canucks in a 6-0 Devils victory at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night in the opening game of the club’s Western Canada trip.

Dawson Mercer (SH), Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat, Tomas Tatar and, yes, Jack Hughes (PP), also scored for the Devils. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom, playing his former club, picked up a shutout with 20 saves.

Of course, the biggest drama of the game featured the three Hughes brothers – Quinn, Jack, Luke – facing off against each other for just the second time ever. Jack posted a goal on the power play and an assist for a two-point night. Luke and Quinn were both held off the scoresheet.

The Devils improved to 7-2-0 during all Hughes matchups and 2-0-0 when all three brothers are in the lineup.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Jack Hughes has eight goals and 15 points (8g-7a) against his brother and the Canucks.

• No one in the National Hockey League has been hotter to start the season in the goal scoring category than Nico Hischier. Also, no one in the NHL has scored more goals in the NHL this season than Nico Hischier.

The Devils captain potted his 10^th of the year to open the scoring just 53 seconds into the game with a perfect snipe. New Jersey had a 2-on-1 rush when Dawson Mercer fed Hischier the puck early. Hischier held as he drifted into the near circle. He then fired a shot into the top corner to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.

Hischier returned the favor (of sorts) in the opening minutes of the second period when the rebound of his shot was converted by Mercer for a shorthanded goal to give the Devils a 2-0 lead.

• The Devils penalty killing unit stepped up in a major way early in the game. Forward Jesper Bratt was called for a four-minute high-sticking penalty after cutting Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes early in the first period. Not only were the Devils down a man for four minutes, but were playing without a key PKer.

The units came up with a perfect kill. Thanks in some part to good stick play. Hischier batted an airborne pass out of the air to deny a scoring chance and clear. Jack Hughes, getting some PK time, also intercepted a pass along the blue line for a clear. It was a great all-around effort by the group in what could have been a disastrous situation.

If that wasn’t enough, Mercer scored a shorthanded goal 95 seconds into the second period. Not too bad of a night for the PK units.

• Ondrej Palat finally got on the board with a goal late in the second period. He drove to the net and snapped off a shot. Palat followed his own rebound and swatted it into the net off of goalie Arturs Silovs, though the referees didn’t see it cross the goal line and play continued until a review confirmed the goal.

• Meier picked up his fifth goal of the season early in the second period with a quick snipe. He collected a drop pass from Hischier, cut to the high slot and went top corner. It was Hichier’s third point of the night.

• Some fisticuffs broke out in the second period between Erik Haula and Conor Garland. Both exchanged heavy blows, but Haula appeared to get the better of shots landed. The crowd roared when Garland was shown in the penalty box and then loudly booed when Haula was shown. But in a great move, Haula, with his bloody left hand, blew the crowd a kiss with a grin on his face.