Three Canucks players are now tied for the NHL scoring lead

Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports

Nearly everything’s going right for the Vancouver Canucks these days.

Hosting Bo Horvat and his New York Islanders teammates last night for the first time since the trade that sent Vancouver’s former captain to the Eastern Conference, the team looked like they could suffer their first loss of the season after trailing both 2-0 and 3-1.

But a Filip Hronek marker midway through the third period tied the game at three goals apiece, and Quinn Hughes’ overtime winner ultimately sent the Vancouver faithful home happy.

“We believe in ourselves, we think we have a really good team and I think there was a feeling we were going to win that game the entire game,” Hughes said postgame.

And while Hughes’ goal tied him at 26 points for the overall NHL scoring lead, he’s actually got quite a bit of familiar company there. Interestingly enough, Hughes and teammates J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson are all tied up for first place in the league with 26 points apiece.

Their nearest competition right now is Boston’s David Pastrnak and the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, who sit two points back of Vancouver’s trio at 24 points each.

#Canucks players currently lead the league in:

-Points
-Goals
-Assists
-Plus-minus

🤯🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/o0SCFjLdk5

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) November 16, 2023

But they’re not the only Canucks leading the NHL in a key offensive stat — Brock Boeser’s 13 goals are tied for the league lead, too. Meanwhile, Hughes is leading the league in both assists (20) and plus-minus (+18).

Of course, there’s always the risk of offense being “empty-calorie” — full of goals, but not translating to wins due to a leaky defensive game. That hasn’t been the case at all for Vancouver this year, as they currently sit first in the Western Conference and second league-wide with 25 points. At 12-3-1, the team is off to its best start in franchise history.

Vancouver’s stars will get the chance to add to their lofty totals this evening when they visit the Calgary Flames for a Pacific Division matchup. Puck drop is set for 6 pm PT, with the game broadcast on Sportsnet Pacific.

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