Canucks fans were chanting J.T. Miller's name but he didn't hear it
J.T. Miller may be playing the best hockey of his career right now, and it’s not going unnoticed by Vancouver Canucks fans.
The fiery forward was Vancouver’s best player once again on Tuesday night, playing with an edge and leading his team offensively. Miller seemingly finished every bodycheck all night and set up Brock Boeser for a power-play goal in the first period.
Then, just 29 seconds after the Pittsburgh Penguins sapped the life out of Rogers Arena by tying the game in the second period, Miller scored perhaps the finest goal of the season by a Canuck.
Miller poked the puck away from Penguins defenceman Kris Letang before batting the puck out of the air to send himself on a breakaway and potting a shorthanded beauty.
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A rare moment occurred in the third period at the tail end of another Penguins power play.
Canucks fans began chanting “J.T. Miller,” and it caught on. It could be heard clearly on the television broadcast too.
“I can’t even imagine how that must feel, just pumped on the bench,” said Sportsnet analyst Ray Ferraro, who was between the benches for the game. “You know he hears it.”
LOUD "J.T. Miller" chants in Vancouver đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/inbXEnF2t0
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 28, 2024
Except no, he didn’t.
“Recognized by the crowd?” Miller said when asked about the fans.
“I didn’t even hear them, to be honest with you.”
Perhaps Miller was so dialled in that he blocked out the noise.
He didn’t seem in the mood to chat about anything positive anyway, given the way the game went. The Canucks blew a 2-0 lead in the first period and a 3-2 lead in the third period but wound up losing in overtime.
“We’re up 2-0 at home, that should be lockdown point,” said Miller. “If we had the mentality of winning the game today, we could’ve killed them in the second period, and instead, we let them back in the game, and we only got a point. It’s frustrating.”
With two points in the game, Miller has now surpassed the 80-point plateau for a third straight season. He leads the Canucks with 81 points (30-51-81) in 61 games and is fifth in NHL scoring, behind only Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and David Pastrnak.