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Hughes and Hronek combine to make Canucks history in Seattle

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Nov 25 2023, 6:03 am
Hughes and Hronek combine to make Canucks history in Seattle
Jeff Curry & Sergei Belski, USA Today Sports

What can’t Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek do? While it might be too early to anoint them as the best defensive pair in Vancouver Canucks history, they are rewriting the franchise record books.

Quinn Hughes extended his point streak to 10 games on Friday, leading his team to a dominant 5-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

He registered his only point of the game by setting up Hronek for a howitzer from the point, which was redirected in by Sam Lafferty.

With Hughes now extending his point streak to 10 games, this is the first time in franchise history that the Canucks have had two defencemen post point streaks of 10 games or more in the same season.

Earlier this season, Hronek had an 11-game point streak, which started on October 24 against the Nashville Predators and finally ceased last week against the Calgary Flames.

Unbelievably, the Canucks have only had five defencemen record point streaks of 10 games or more in their 53 seasons of existence.

Two of those point streaks have come from Hughes and Hronek, who have accomplished that feat within the last 31 days.

Dennis Kearns (11 games, 1976-77), Doug Halward (10 games, 1982-83), and Jiri Bubla (10 games, 1983-84) are the only other defencemen in franchise history to record point streaks of at least 10 games.

So, is it too early to say that Hughes and Hronek are the best defensive pair in Canucks history?

Canucks’ Young Swedes make an impact

It’s not often that we talk about young Swedes making a difference for the Canucks without mentioning Elias Pettersson.

Not that Pettersson had a poor showing, although he was on the ice for the Canucks’ only goal against.

However, it was the Canucks’ two youngest players in the lineup tonight, Nils Höglander and Nils Aman, who made the biggest impact among Swedish Canucks.

Höglander continues to show that he’s probably more than a fourth-line player. The 22-year-old scored again and extended his point streak to a career-high five games.

He also threw a massive hit in the first period, which knocked Kraken forward Brandon Tanev out of the game.

Despite the positive performance, it was surprising to see Höglander with a team-low 9:54 of ice time. He was the only Canuck who skated for fewer than 12 minutes against Seattle.

Apparently, that doesn’t matter to the 22-year-old, who continues to make the most of his minutes.

Höglander’s linemate for most of the night, Nils Aman, also had a stellar showing in his season debut.

The lanky centre recorded two assists in his first NHL game this season, and he was on the ice for all three of the Canucks goals at even strength.

Heck, he was even on the ice for Teddy Blueger’s beautiful shorthanded goal.

Aman was previously praised by Tocchet during training camp for being in great shape. Although he was eventually demoted, the 23-year-old forced his way back up to the NHL squad by posting eight goals and 15 points in 15 games with the Abbotsford Canucks. He leads the farm team in goals, and trails only Arshdeep Bains in points.

He even signed a two-year extension with the Canucks earlier in the day, worth $825,000 per season.

Not a bad day for Aman, nor was it a bad day for anyone on the Canucks.

Trevor BeggsTrevor Beggs
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