NEWARK, N.J. _ There was more chippiness than there's been in most Devils games this season and one truly scary moment where players from both teams froze in wide-eyed attention as Canucks defenseman Adam Larsen, after a hard, second-period collision with Taylor Hall, had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher.
But there was also better defensive structure from the Devils and a sharper game from goalie Cory Schneider. It led to a 3-2 win over the Canucks on Tuesday night at Prudential Center as the Devils, the last team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home, improved to 8-0-2 at The Rock as they set a franchise mark for their longest unbeaten home streak to start a season.
Schneider made 22 saves for the Devils (12-7-6), playing just one of three home games in an 11-game stretch and earning their first win in regulation in 11 games. It also snapped the Devils' nine-game streak of allowing at least three goals.
Jacob Markstrom stopped 19 shots for the Canucks (11-13-2), who are opening a five-game road trip. But his best save may have come on his fallen teammate.
Hall, coming around the Canucks' crease hard, delivered an unpenalized and what the NHL will likely deem a clean check on Larsen at 5:35 of the second period. Larsen went down hard, clearly knocked out by the blow, as Michael Chaput confronted Hall and a scrum developed over him.
Markstrom bent down to protect his teammate while frantically calling for the trainers and Larsen, still motionless on the ice, was immobilized and hurriedly placed on a stretcher. The Canucks later reported Larsen was coherent, alert and had full movement before being taken to a nearby hospital for observation.
The bad blood continued 20 seconds later as Erik Gudbranson took a run at Sergey Kalinin, with Gudbranson, teammate Alexandre Burrows and the Devils' Devante Smith-Pelly all going off for roughing.
The Devils, perhaps relaxed to finally have a home game or maybe continuing the momentum from Saturday's third period and overtime of a 5-4 overtime win at Nashville, started crisply. Passes were completed with regularity. The front of their crease was defended well. A good portion of time was spent in the Canucks' zone.
It resulted in a 1-0 lead at 3:42 when Hall grabbed a loose puck in the low slot and connected on a forehand wrist shot after Markstrom could not hang on to Kyle Quincey's blue-line slap shot with his glove. P.A. Parenteau, with the secondary assist, snapped a seven-game streak without a point.
The rest of the period was largely non-descript _ defenseman Damon Severson's first NHL fight, against Brendan Gaunce at 13:46 notwithstanding _ until the final minute.
Travis Zajac went hard into the boards behind the Canucks' crease with, perhaps, a slight push from Chaput at 19:28. At least the Devils felt Chaput pushed Zajac, whose face was bloodied as he lay motionless for about a minute. John Moore confronted Chaput and both got five-minute majors for fighting. But Moore also received a two-minute minor for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct. That, plus a two-minute bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, gave the Canucks a two-man advantage for two minutes.
Zajac returned in the second period.
The two-man advantage carried into the second period and Daniel Sedin, inside the left circle, tied the game at 1 at 1:10 with 19 seconds left on the five-on-three.
Kyle Palmieri's power-play goal at 7:08, his first goal in nine games and his fourth of the season after setting a career high last season with 30, made it 2-1 and defenseman Ben Lovejoy's slap shot at 11:09, his first goal as a Devil, made it a two-goal lead.
Henrik Sedin brought the Canucks within 3-2 at 3:58 of the third period on a sharp-angle shot from the right.
