‘He drags guys along’: Quinn Hughes hitting new highs with Vancouver Canucks

“I think I’m playing the best I’ve played in my career. But in saying that, it’s a really hard league, it’s a humbling league,” Hughes said after Saturday’s win. “So for me, I’m just trying to refocus every single day, try to keep my body healthy and try to be at my best. be a good leader, and see where that goes.”

Hughes opened the scoring at the 12:23 mark of the first period, collecting a cross-ice pass from winger Nils Hoglander and driving into the high slot where he unleashed a backhanded shot that sailed in past Washington netminder Charlie Lindgren.

“He attacks the inside. Call him small, whatever, but he’s not scared to go the interior. That’s how you score goals,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said of the five-foot-10, 180-pound blueliner.

“So I give him a lot of credit. That’s a big team. When you go in, there’s a lot of white jerseys around the middle. He’s not scared of that. So that’s what I love about the kid.”

Hughes gave the Canucks a 2-0 lead 84 seconds into the middle frame when he whipped a shot through traffic from just inside the blue line.

With the two goals, the star defenceman extended his point streak to five games with five goals and two assists across the stretch.

His offensive output comes amid a rough stretch for a Vancouver side that came into Saturday’s game with losses in four of its last five outings.

Hughes steps up in big situations, takes over games and shows what a great leader he is, said Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen.

“I’m just extremely impressed,” Lankinen said. “Obviously, playing against him in the last few years, but now seeing him on a daily basis, just how he drags guys along and takes over games, is remarkable. I’m just really, really happy to be witnessing that and just being the same side of that show.”

STREAK SNAPPED

Saturday’s result snapped Washington’s six-game win streak and marked the Capitals’ first regulation loss since Dec. 29. The team went 9-0-2 between regulation losses.

“I think we have pretty good chances,” said Caps sniper Alex Ovechkin. “Obviously, the goalie played well and you can see at the end, we just missed execution. Puck was bobbling, bouncing but it was a good battle. We fight till the end, and unfortunately, we didn’t get points.”

KEEP IT ROLLING

The Canucks have made a habit recently of earning wins over top-ranked teams, then struggling to follow up with another strong performance in their next outing.

Vancouver has not posted two wins in a row since Dec. 1 and will look to change that Monday when the team begins a three-game road swing against the Blues in St. Louis.

Finding consistency between games takes the entire team, Tocchet said.

“It’s coaches, it’s players, it’s continually preaching the good things, but also knowing that we can’t let our foot off the gas,” the coach said. “But it’s something that we’ve talked about all year. It’s a confidence thing, I guess. But it’s also responsibility of everybody to be ready. … The St. Louis game is a big game for us.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

<!– Photo: d8d9d41f8e73011fa48bc0ff4221791d7a1e99454a5ed8843fdca5a0a2f1736f.jpg, Caption:

Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes skates to toss a stick into the crowd after being named the game’s first star after an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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by Canadian Press

‘He drags guys along’: Quinn Hughes hitting new highs with Vancouver Canucks

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