The New Jersey Devils have wasted no time stacking milestones early in the 2026-27 season, and Saturday’s matinee against the Vancouver Canucks added another one to the list.
Captain Nico Hischier buried his 200th NHL goal on a wrist shot with the man advantage to tie the game midway through the first period. He wasn’t finished there. Hischier struck again on the power play in the second period, stretching the Devils’ lead to 4-1.
Earlier this month, Timo Meier played in his 700th NHL game, and Jake Allen reached 500 against Vancouver on Saturday afternoon. But Hischier’s day carried the most weight for New Jersey, because it marked a major scoring benchmark for the player wearing the “C.”
After the game, Hischier kept the focus on what comes next, saying, “Obviously makes me proud…Hopefully there are a couple more coming, so I hope I’m not done. I still want to get better, and I want to take this team somewhere.”
Now in his tenth season with the Devils, Hischier is tied with alternate captain Jesper Bratt as the team’s longest-tenured player. That kind of staying power has come with a résumé that keeps growing. Drafted first overall by New Jersey in 2017, Hischier has already collected his first two career hat tricks over the last two seasons.
He also put together a huge 2025-26 campaign, leading the league in faceoffs taken with 1,808 and faceoffs won with 1,008 while finishing as the Devils’ top goal scorer with 28.
His 201 career goals place him fifth in franchise history, and he is closing in on Travis Zajac and Bobby Holik, who are tied at 202. With his two-way game, defensive reliability and leadership, Hischier has already built a case as one of the most important players in Devils history.
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For Vancouver, the real watch item is no longer just Petterssons production at the top of the lineup, but what the coaching staff decides to do behind him. The Canucks have options to consider in goal after Kevin Lankinen was tagged for six goals on 18 shots, and how they handle that spot could matter just as much as whether Pettersson keeps rolling against New Jersey. [Read more 🡒]