Canucks return from break motivated by critics: 'I hope we use that as fuel'

VANCOUVER — Quinn Hughes ain’t seen nothing yet.

It’s not that Hughes agrees with analytics-driven skepticism about the Vancouver Canucks — that, among other metrics, the team’s unprecedented shooting percentage is unsustainable and will eventually correct and pull the team down the standings.

It’s just that Vancouver’s captain, knowing the Canucks have made the Stanley Cup playoffs only once in the last eight seasons, believes they have to do much more than merely top the National Hockey League standings over the Christmas break.

“I don't blame anyone for saying anything,” Hughes said after Wednesday afternoon’s practice at Rogers Arena. “I mean, we're not a team where we've been in the playoffs the last five years and can say... whatever. 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.

“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. We haven't earned that because we haven't been in before. So every game is a test for us, a challenge for us to keep it going. And that's good for us.”

The Philadelphia Flyers, against whom the Canucks played their worst game this season in a 2-0 road loss on Oct. 17, visit Vancouver on Thursday night as the teams emerge from the holiday break.

The Canucks are 23-9-3. Twenty-two of their wins have been in regulation. They lead the NHL with a plus-46 goals differential, are first in scoring (3.86 goals per game), second in goals-against (2.51) and extended their playoff cushion to 16 points by going 7-0-2 before the break.

But there were no signs Wednesday that players spent the break basking in their unexpected success.

“It's great — don't get me wrong,” veteran defenceman Tyler Myers said. “We've worked hard to be where we are right now. But at the same time, there's more than half the season left. There's a lot of points up for grabs, and it always tightens up the second half of the year.

“We talked about it this morning as a group; I think it's a matter of not getting comfortable. Most players and most teams are at their best when you're constantly looking to get better and you don't allow yourself to get complacent or comfortable in the situation that you're in.”

Coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet near the end of last season that for the Canucks to get where they need to go, players would have to accept being uncomfortable.

“I think we're, what, 7-0-2 in our last nine?” Tocchet said Wednesday. “But, you know, guys are pissed about some games. 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.”

Canucks scoring leader J.T. Miller said after a sloppy 7-4 win Saturday against the San Jose Sharks that players were unhappy with the performance and know they need to be better.

Asked about the legitimacy of the team’s standing, defenceman Ian Cole said:  “We think we have a really good hockey team. We don't think that we're playing above ourselves right now. Now, shooting percentage and save percentage and analytics and this and that, like, are there things we can improve? Yes, absolutely. Do we think we can make those changes? Yes. But I love where we are. And I love how we've gotten here. And if we can keep that chip on our shoulder — the underdog that no one believes in — even better.”

In his interview with Sportsnet on Wednesday, Hughes said the Canucks have one of the league’s best save percentages (fifth at .930) because the team has an "elite tandem" in Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith. And as for shot metrics, Hughes said the Canucks protect the middle of the ice in their own end and are patient with the puck in the offensive zone, waiting for the best shooting opportunity.

“The team has their own analytics,” Myers said. “You have to be careful about that kind of stuff. But in terms of the chip on the shoulder... we're definitely not allowing ourselves to get comfortable with this. We know what it's like on the other side of things.”

Hughes isn’t allowing himself to be comfortable despite building a Norris Trophy campaign. He leads all NHL defencemen with 44 points and a plus-28 rating before Christmas. Hughes' 10 goals co-led the league among blue-liners, and the Canucks have outscored opponents 44-21 at five-on-five with their captain on the ice.

“As a player, I don't feel like I need to prove anything,” he said. “Last year, I mean, I was second in D-points and I was plus-16 and second in the league in minutes played. I felt like there were very few guys better than me last year. But the reality of the situation was that our team wasn't winning, and what I was doing wasn't getting us to where we needed to be. So I think my main focus coming here (this season) was just being a respectable team and being able to drive your team. We've had a bunch of guys that have been able to do that.”

Those talented, long-tenured guys — Demko, Hughes, Miller, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser — seem singularly focussed on continuing to drive wins far beyond Game 35.

“I don't like using the word negative (but) I think there's a lot of outside noise that doesn't believe in this team,” Tocchet said. “I kind of like that, me personally. As a player, I liked that. I hope we use that as fuel. At the end of the day, you know, you're a motivated guy. Whether somebody says you're lucky or it's a matter of time before it blows up, I really don't care about that stuff. I think it's self-motivation and team motivation together.”

The Canucks may lead the league in that, too.