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‘What the best players do’: Canucks’ Hughes steps up to deliver much-needed win

VANCOUVER — Rising up in Boston, Conor Garland stated considered one of his favorite athletes was Pink Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez.

“He used to say, each time they wanted to win, he may discover a solution to simply deliver his recreation,” Garland, the Vancouver Canucks winger, defined late Saturday. “And Huggy is identical means — he has that sense when we have to win. You do not need to name a recreation in January a must-win, however we would have liked this one tonight. He simply finds a solution to deliver his greatest.”

Huggy is what Quinn Hughes has been known as by Canuck teammates since he arrived in Vancouver for his rookie season 5 ½ years in the past.

It’s quick for Huggy Bear. However the defenceman has turn out to be extra like a Spirit Bear for the Canucks — the uncommon white bear that’s sacred in First Nations tradition on the West Coast and, in response to legend, was created to remind everybody that the world was as soon as coated in ice.

There has by no means been such a creature on ice for the Vancouver Canucks.

As most round him have failed this season, Hughes has been even higher than he was final yr when he introduced the Norris Trophy to the Canucks’ curio cupboard for the primary time.

Head coach Rick Tocchet has stated a number of occasions lately that he worries that Hughes, the Canucks’ captain, has taken an excessive amount of on himself throughout the staff’s disappointing season.

“I really feel accountable that we have had the turmoil that we have had,” Hughes instructed Sportsnet late Saturday. “And I need to, you realize, be the rationale that we are able to get out of this and achieve success. It is embarrassing to lose among the video games we have misplaced the final couple weeks.”

Like 6-2 Thursday in Edmonton. And three-2 the sport earlier than that towards Buffalo. And 5-1 and 6-1 the week earlier than that towards Los Angeles and Winnipeg.

However on Saturday, with the Canucks simply attempting to outlive the tumult of the final two months and by some means keep within the Nationwide Hockey League playoff race, Hughes went out and delivered a win, scoring each targets as Vancouver edged the highly effective Washington Capitals 2-1 on one of many few actually good nights at Rogers Area this season.

For a change, Hughes had plenty of assist Saturday from teammates, and particularly defence associate Filip Hronek, goalie Kevin Lankinen and beleaguered centre J.T. Miller. However Huggy was nonetheless Pedro.

“It is simply spectacular when, you realize, he knew we would have liked one tonight,” Garland continued. “And he went on the market and delivered, and that is what the perfect gamers do. We had some conversations the final two days, nearly, you realize, it is a grinding a part of the season, guys are drained, and it looks like every thing is crammed. It is a problem to your physique. However simply how dialled he’s on that, it is inspiring for the remainder of our group.

“I FaceTimed him yesterday on my stroll, and he is getting therapy (on a break day) and in his home recovering. So, it is a good lesson for younger guys coming in and possibly the fellows that are not taking part in as constant as they need, what it takes to do that each evening.”

“He is most likely top-of-the-line gamers within the league proper now,” Lankinen stated. “Not simply defencemen, however gamers basically, and there is plenty of good gamers on this league. So it is simply actually cool to witness what he is doing every day. You already know, recreation after recreation, he is main us on the ice and taking up video games. It doesn’t matter what’s happening (with the staff), he can nonetheless deliver his A-game, which is de facto spectacular.”

It is spectacular, additionally, that Lankinen is so impressed by Hughes as a result of the goalie spent the final two seasons taking part in behind defenceman Roman Josi in Nashville.

Lankinen left the Predators for an opportunity to play extra elsewhere, and has definitely discovered that chance in Vancouver.

In his 31st recreation of the season, seven greater than he performed all of final yr, Group Finland’s 4 Nations goalie stopped 32 of 33 Washington photographs, and blanked the Capitals till Lankinen had the puck jammed out from below him and Pierre-Luc Dubois swept it into an open web with 7:29 remaining.

Lankinen made a point-blank save on Dubois a minute later, and obtained a key last-minute block from Miller on Jakob Chychrun’s one-timer.

“Clearly the end result (was necessary), however I assumed, particularly within the second interval there, we actually took it to them,” Hughes stated. “We performed with plenty of tempo. We caught to our staples. At occasions, we had been easy. I imply, we grinded out a win towards a extremely good staff.”

However performances like this one additionally make the Canucks’ many duds much more mystifying.

Hughes has been the one constant constructive, driving play and doing every thing in his energy to rescue his staff.

As standard, the defenceman created his personal house and shot angles on each targets Saturday.

Nils Hoglander obtained the puck to Hughes on the level on the primary aim, and Brock Boeser on the second. And, importantly, the Canucks had net-front site visitors for each. However nonetheless, the targets had been largely Hughes being Hughes, making one thing from nothing.

After a tough opening 10 minutes for Vancouver, the American snatched a 1-0 lead for his staff at 12:23 of the primary interval, bursting previous Capitals ahead Brandon Duhaime on the level and attacking the slot at an angle earlier than lifting a backhand previous Linus Karlsson’s display and into the highest nook behind Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren.

Hughes’ second aim — and 14th in 44 video games — didn’t require as a lot of his bodily items however simply as a lot mind energy. The Vancouver captain walked the blue line with the puck till a capturing lane opened beside Dubois, which is when Hughes zipped a wrist shot previous Lindgren after Canucks Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter took Capitals Tom Wilson and Matt Roy to the entrance of the online.

In an in any other case evenly-contested, intense, structured recreation, Hughes was the X-factor. He was the distinction.

“He was actually good final yr, however I believe he obtained higher over the summer time,” Hronek stated. “Truly, we need to assist him extra. He is attempting so exhausting, he brings his greatest each evening, so we have to assist him.”

Perhaps this recreation is usually a turning level for Vancouver, however we’ve been fallacious about that a number of occasions already. The Canucks beat the Oilers 3-2 final Saturday and, seven days earlier than that, shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on Hockey Night time in Canada.

However these are the one three wins the Canucks have generated since Jan. 2. 

What we are able to assure is that Hughes will probably be world class once more when the Canucks, with commerce winds howling, play a three-game highway journey in St. Louis, Nashville and Dallas, beginning Monday.

“A number of the greatest I’ve performed in my profession,” Hughes stated. “However simply saying that, it is a actually exhausting league, a humbling league. So for me, I am simply attempting to actually focus each single day. I attempt to preserve my physique wholesome and attempt to be at my greatest, be a very good chief and see the place that goes.”

He simply wants the Canucks to comply with.


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