NEWARK, N.J. _ Hours before he sent the Prudential Crowd into a "Bri-an Boy-le, Bri-an Boy-le" chant with a dramatic power-play goal, the affable veteran, diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia at the start of training camp, was asked if he could imagine what his reaction would be if he scored on NHL Hockey Fights Cancer night.
He had cried thinking of his family when he scored his first _ and until Friday night's game _ only goal of the season. This time, his wife, Lauren, son, Declan, and baby daughter Isabella were in the building for the Devils' 3-2 win over the Canucks and on the ice with him when he took the ceremonial first faceoff.
"No, no," said the 32-year-old Boyle, who signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal as a free agent this offseason. "I hope I do score a couple of goals. It's been a while."
Boyle scored only once but it likely as memorable a goal as he's scored in his career. No doubt the first time he's heard that kind of chant.
Cory Schneider made 23 saves for the Devils (13-5-4) while Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots for the Canucks (11-9-3).
The Devils won 2-0 at Vancouver on Nov. 1 _ Boyle's first game back in the lineup _ as Schneider stopped 37 shots for his only shutout of the season. He is now (5-1-2) against his former team, who traded him to the Devils on June 30, 2013 for the eighth overall pick in that day's NHL draft.
The Canucks selected Bo Horvat, now their top line center, with that pick.
Keith Kinkaid will start on Saturday night for the Devils as they conclude a back-to-back at Detroit.
Taylor Hall, with his first goal in five games, gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 2:15 of the second period as he lifted a sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle to beat Markstrom to the short side. Hall also added two assists.
Daniel Sedin's redirection at the crease tied the game at 5:36 but rookie defenseman Will Butcher set up Boyle's goal with a burst of speed through the Canucks zone before feeding the puck to the slot.
Boyle, after scoring, immediately pointed to Butcher and raced over to hug him along the right boards. When he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3-2 overtime loss to the visiting Oilers on Nov. 9, Boyle sent his arm into a windmill, slammed his 6-foot-6 frame against the glass and shed some tears.
Hall then beat defenseman Christopher Tanev to the crease but had his backhander go off the left post. However, defenseman Damon Severson easily deposited the rebound to give the Devils a 3-1 lead at 15:45
That was cut to 3-2 on Horvat's power-play goal at 10:37 after he had been slashed by John Moore. What was doubly frustrating to the Devils was Canucks defenseman Michael Del Zotto drew blood by getting his stick to the face of Miles Wood at 9:07. It should have been a four-minute double minor but nothing was called.
Schneider's success against his former team continued in the first period with a couple of impressive saves. He looked behind but stopped Tanev's shot from the slot off Henrik Sedin's beautiful, spinning backhanded feed from the left boards at 14:57.
Then, Schneider stopped rookie Brock Boeser, who had two goals apiece as the Canucks opened their six-game road trip with twin 5-2 wins at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, at 15:38.
The scariest moment, though, came as defenseman Alexander Edler checked Nico Hischier into the end boards in the Canucks' zone from behind, though he was not penalized. Hischier remained on his knees for a couple of seconds holding his head before getting back into the play at 15:36. Hischier did not miss a shift.
