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Miller named 2nd star of the week, Canucks trounce Rangers, Devils up next |
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Sunday Feb. 27 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - New York Rangers 2
Monday Feb. 28 - Vancouver Canucks at New Jersey Devils - 4:30 p.m. PT
Can we start talking about playoffs *now*?
With their 5-2 win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, the Vancouver Canucks have climbed within three points of a Western Conference wild-card berth. As one of just two Western teams in action on Monday night, they can narrow that gap to one point if they can beat the New Jersey Devils in the latest instalment of the battle of the Hughes brothers.
Going in, Sunday's game looked like a schedule win to me — with the Rangers on a back-to-back following a tough 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and with the Canucks seeing Alexandar Georgiev in his first start in a month. But full credit to the visitors. Once again, Thatcher Demko made some five-bell saves early on to keep his team in the fight. And by the end of the first period, J.T. Miller had logged a pair of primary assists to help put the Canucks up 2-0 — and keep the Garden faithful salivating about what he could deliver if Chris Drury was able to snag his top trade-deadline target.
But the closer the Canucks get to a playoff spot, the greater the sense of resignation, I think. Miller is doing too much, too well, for Vancouver to cut ties with him right now. And trading him would send the wrong message to the group that has delivered well above expectations since the Boudreau/Rutherford/Allvin era began.
Miller wasn't even named one of the game's three stars by the attending media at MSG on Sunday. Those honours went to Demko (31 saves), Matthew Highmore (a goal and an assist on his 26th birthday) and Tyler Myers (his first goal of the year, and an assist).
Myers was also a plus-2 for the night, which brings him up to plus-13 for the year — a sharp contrast from his minus-7 in his first season in Vancouver in 2019-20 and minus-8 last year.
A nice night for Myers to get his first goal of the season, with his mom and his brother Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks in the stands.
And wouldya look at that? After outscoring their opponents 17-5 in their three wins this week, Vancouver is actually back to a positive goal differential, at plus-one.
When Bruce Boudreau took over after Game 25, Vancouver was minus-20, averaging 2.40 goals per game and 3.2 goals against. The Canucks were seven games below .500 at 18 points, and eight points out of the second wild card.
Now, after game 54, the Canucks are four games above .500 with 58 points. Yes, 40 points in 29 games under Boudreau, for a points percentage of .690. They've still got room for improvement offensively, now up to 2.76 goals per game even after this week's outburst. But now down to 2.74 goals against for the year, it has been quite the turnaround at both ends of the ice.
Shoutout to the Canucks' special teams, too. They went 1-for-1 on the power play on Sunday thanks to Matthew Highmore's first-career NHL power-play goal, and a perfect 3-for-3 against the Rangers' fourth-ranked power play, including a pair of first-period kills while defending their 1-0 lead.
And J.T. Miller just had to wait a few hours for his next accolade. Thanks to a stat line of 2-6-8 in Vancouver's three wins, Miller was named the NHL's second star of the week, just behind Auston Matthews (nine points) and ahead of Steven Stamkos (three points, including the winning goal, in Tampa Bay's 3-2 victory over Nashville at the Stadium Series outdoor game over the weekend).
As well as Myers' family, Quinn Hughes' parents Jim and Ellen were also in the stands at MSG on Sunday. I expect we'll also see them at Prudential Center on Monday, with Quinn and Jack set to go head-to-head for the first time since Nov. 10, 2019.
Jack holds the edge in the brothers' rivalry so far. He scored the only goal in their first meeting, a 1-0 home win for the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 19, 2019. Quinn had an assist in the rematch a month later, a 2-1 win for the Devils at Rogers Arena.
The Devils will visit Vancouver this year on March 15, as part of a seven-game Canucks homestand that's heavy on Eastern Conference visitors. It will also feature Montreal, Washington, Tampa Bay, Detroit and Buffalo — with a big Saturday-night game against Calgary thrown in for good measure.
Now with more than two years of additional experience under his belt, Jack is on his way to realizing his potential as the No. 1 pick from the 2019 draft. He missed 17 games earlier this season with a dislocated shoulder, and was out for three games after contracting Covid-19 over the All-Star Break, but has had a strong season otherwise. With 15 goals and 36 points in 32 games, he's averaging better than a point per game. And he has been on a heater since getting out of Covid protocols, with nine points in his last four games — a pair of games against Pittsburgh and singles against Tampa Bay and Chicago.
New Jersey is still wallowing in the Metropolitan Division basement, but is actually a pretty fun team to watch. Jesper Bratt is a quiet scoring machine, leading his team with 48 points in 47 games, and rookie Dawson Mercer is a second-tier Calder Trophy candidate, with 29 points.
New Jersey's biggest issue is its goaltending. After coming into the season with Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, both have now been on long-term injured reserve for awhile. Jon Gillies has been carrying a good chunk of the load, but has a 3-9-0 record with a 3.77 goals-against average and .884 save percentage. Nico Daws, a 21-year-old who you might remember from Canada's 2020 World Junior team, is expected to get the nod against the Canucks. He was outstanding in his last outing, making 37 saves as the Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 last Thursday, but still has just 204 minutes of total NHL experience over five games this season.
For the Canucks, it's Jaro Halak.
This will be Halak's 10th start of the season, which officially triggers the $1.25 million bonus clause in his contract — which was eventually confirmed to be for 10 starts, not 10 games played.
And when you play as rarely as Halak does, it doesn't take much to wreak havoc with your stats. His save percentage plummeted from .918 to .899 due to just two appearances in the month of February: five goals allowed in 16:19 against the Islanders on Feb. 9, and two goals in 35:40 of relief action against the Ducks on Feb. 19.
New Jersey has some firepower — averaging 31.4 shots per game and 3.00 goals per game. The Canucks will need a good outing from their veteran backup if they hope to pick up another two points on Monday night and keep that playoff push alive.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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