It's hard to make a more perfect pass than the one Quinn Hughes conjured up to assist Conor Garland's game-opening goal.
Hughes is making a strong case to win his second straight award given to the best defenseman in the NHL. He leads the Canucks into Enterprise Center to face the St. Louis Blues on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, Prime) off a two-goal performance in a 2-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
The Canucks hadn't won back-to-back games since Dec. 1, but looked more like their old selves against the Blues.
The five-foot-10 blue-liner won the Norris Trophy for the NHL's best defenseman in 2023-24, and with half of this season in the books, he's making another case for himself. Throughout all of the turmoil that the Vancouver Canucks have endured, Hughes' numbers have remained consistent.
In a large scrum during the second period of Thursday night's game, Oilers forward Corey Perry grabbed Hughes and threw him down to the ice. There was little reaction or pushback from the Canucks as their captain was being roughed up.
Defenseman Quinn Hughes is doing his best to keep the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference playoff chase.
Canucks fans are a little spoiled as they get to watch Hughes on a nightly basis. He pulls off moves that few players in the world can do while making it look easy. While the moves look spectacular from a distance, they are also stunning from ice level, according to Boeser.
Quinn Hughes scored two goals and the Vancouver Canucks held on to defeat the visiting Washington Capitals 2-1 on Saturday night, ending Washington's six-game winning streak.
The latest: Conor Garland is banged up and didn’t practise Sunday with a maintenance day. Noah Juulsen skated after missing five games with an undisclosed injury and is a lineup option.
Hughes steps up in big situations, takes over games and shows what a great leader he is, said Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen.
During the first intermission of the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals game, Hockey Night in Canada analyst and former Canuck defenceman Kevin Bieksa spoke about the lack of protection the team has toward an opposing player roughing with the team’s captain and best player,