Boyle, Hall, and the New Jersey Devils Prevailed Over Vancouver Canucks, 3-2

Tonight was Hockey Fights Cancer night at the Rock. The league-led initiative has been running for over twenty years. As far as I can recall, Brian Boyle is the first New Jersey Devils player to actively play after being diagnosed. Boyle missed preseason and the first month of this season due to chronic myeloid leukemia. That he has been playing is a feat in of itself. Like a storybook or a movie or a set piece or a cut scene in a video game, Boyle made his mark in a big way on this night. During a power play in the second period with the score tied, 1-1, Taylor Hall dropped a pass to Will Butcher in the neutral zone. Butcher cut through the middle of the Vancouver Canucks’ penalty kill. He broke Ben Hutton’s ankles. Coming down with him, unmarked, was Boyle. Butcher dished him a cross-slot pass to elude Christopher Tanev. Boyle hammered in a one-timer to convert the penalty, put the Devils up 2-1, and made a lifetime memory with his second goal as a Devil. This goal was a big deal when it happened. The fans at the Rock, like myself and perhaps yourself, chanted his name after the goal and they chanted it loudly. Boyle, who is battling leukemia, scored an important goal on Hockey Fights Cancer night. This goal - a real goalazo given what Butcher did and Boyle scoring it - will be a big part of any story surrounding this game and this season. As it should be.

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