Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes won’t let his club rest on its laurels down the stretch despite exiting the holiday break atop the Western Conference standings.
“Sometimes after games, you’re like, ‘Holy crap, we’re right there (in first place).’ But we haven’t earned the right to just like put our feet up and cruise to the playoffs,” Hughes said, per Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. “So every game is a test for us, a challenge for us to keep it going. And that’s good for us.”
Vancouver is 23-9-3 so far, two points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights for top spot in the West as well as the Pacific Division with a game in hand. The Canucks are tied with the New York Rangers for the top spot in the NHL but have played two extra contests compared to New York.
Some critics expect Vancouver to regress in the second half of the campaign based on its potentially unsustainable on-ice results. The Canucks lead the league in five-on-five shooting percentage at 12.2% while also ranking fourth with a .929 save percentage at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“I don’t blame anyone for saying anything,” Hughes said. “I mean, we’re not a team where we’ve been in the playoffs the last five years … I think we have a great team. I mean, we’re going to go through a stretch here where we lose a couple of games, but we’re also going to go through stretches where we win a lot of games.”
The Canucks went on a 7-1-2 run before Christmas, but head coach Rick Tocchet was impressed by his players not getting carried away with the success.
“Guys are pissed about some games,” he said. “I sleep at night when I hear that from players. I like the feeling that guys are uncomfortable, that they’re not happy. They’re happy in certain respects, but they’re unhappy about some of the play. And I like that.”
Tocchet is in his first full season behind the Canucks’ bench. He’s 43-21-7 since taking over in January. Vancouver has only made the postseason once since 2015, winning two series in the bubble playoffs in 2020.
The Canucks return to the ice Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.