Canucks reclaim top spot in NHL with shutout against Blackhawks
The Vancouver Canucks took back pole position in the NHL with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night. Thatcher Demko made 31 saves to record his fifth shutout of the season, tying him for the league lead.
The win means that the Canucks finish another day atop the league’s standings.
“I love shutouts,” said head coach Rick Tocchet after the game. “I’d rather win 2-0 than 8-4 any day of the week. It gets you in the game, you’re doing the right things most times when you get a shutout.”
Andrei Kuzmenko got the party started in the first period with a beautiful spinning assist to set up Pius Suter. Quinn Hughes would rifle a shot top shelf to double the lead just a few minutes later.
What a spin-o-rama feed from Andrei Kuzmenko! šŖļø pic.twitter.com/evSlquEXnF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 23, 2024
The assist was one of Kuzmenko’s two points on the night, marking his first time on the scoresheet in 2024.
While it wasn’t his toughest test, Demko did make several key stops to keep the Blackhawks at bay.
“I feel like he’s been one of the best in the league for a while now. But that position has a lot to do with statistics and with how loose we’ve been the last two years he probably doesn’t get the recognition he deserves,” said Captain Hughes about his goalie after the game. “Now we’re starting to clean some stuff up and you guys are seeing his numbers I think he could have been at the last couple years.”
The American-born goalie has never finished higher than seventh in Vezina Trophy voting. His numbers thus far this year mean that’s likely to change.
“He’s a top one, two, or three goalie in the league,” continued Hughes. “Makes those saves and we feel very comfortable in front of him.”
The Canucks had been passed in the NHL standings earlier in the day by the Boston Bruins who earned two points in a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. With this win, the Canucks are now once again a point ahead of the Bruins and occupy the top spot.
NHL.com
The two points earned tonight also helped the Canucks build on their Pacific Division lead. They are now eight points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights with the same number of games played.
Not only are the Canucks in first place, they also are the first team to record 30 regulation wins. No other team has more than 27. With 68 points in 47 games, they are also on pace for more than 118 points, a number that would be a franchise record.
The Canucks have two more games before the NHL All-Star Weekend. It won’t be much of a break for many of the team’s members as they’ll have a total of six representatives, including head coach Tocchet, at the event.
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