Demko makes 22 saves, Canucks shut out Blues

VANCOUVER -- Thatcher Demko made 22 saves, and Quinn Hughes scored twice for the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-0 win against the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena on Friday.

J.T. Miller had one goal and two assists, Phillip Di Giuseppe scored and Elias Pettersson had two assists for the Canucks (5-2-0), who have won three in a row.

"It's probably one of the better starts I've seen us have in my career,” Demko said. "I'm really proud of that effort in the first. Coming back home we wanted to make sure we established home ice … try to build that culture at home the rest of the year."

Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the Blues (3-3-1), who were playing for the second consecutive night after beating the Calgary Flames 3-0 on Thursday.

Hughes put Vancouver ahead 1-0 at 7:59 of the first period with a screened shot from the top of the left face-off circle after an extended shift in the Blues zone. 

The Canucks outshot St. Louis 19-3 in the first period. 

“You're going to lose hockey games, but you can't be losing them like that,” St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn said. “You're not even giving yourself a chance. We have to clean that up and we can't be 'A' game and then 'D' game. … We’ve got lots to work on and obviously, being consistent is one.”

Hughes made it 2-0 at 5:48 of the second, skating from the left point to the right face-off circle before throwing a backhand pass into traffic that bounced in off the skate of Blues forward Kevin Hayes. 

“I'm just trying to shoot it more,” said Hughes. “I feel a lot more dangerous than I have in the past.”

It was Hughes second two-goal game in the NHL, and first since Feb. 1, 2020. He has four points (three goals, one assist) during a three-game point streak and eight points (three goals, five assists) in seven games this season.

"It’s nice to see him fill the net,” Miller said. “He's worked on shooting pucks and getting pucks through [to] the net. He's a threat pretty much all the time. We're lucky he's on our side.”

Di Giuseppe made it 3-0 on a breakaway at 6:58, beating Binnington on the backhand, and Miller extended the Canucks lead to 4-0 with a short-handed goal at 8:52.

Vancouver scored three goals in 3:04 in the second period. 

“I knew it was going to be a tough game, we all did,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “They're rested here at home and waiting for us, but that's not us. We didn't play our game here tonight and it's hard to find anybody out there you liked.”

Demko stopped Schenn on a breakaway 2:19 into the third period and Justin Faulk on a 2-on-1 redirection in tight to help preserve his first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.

“I don't think I've had too many of those, so nice,” Demko said. “It's a team effort. It’s a little bit easier when the team is scoring and playing that well.”

Ilya Mikheyev scored on a partial breakaway at 6:35 for the 5-0 final. 

NOTES: Hughes recorded his third career multi-goal game. Only four defensemen in Canucks history have more: Mattias Ohlund (7), Rick Lanz (4), Jyrki Lumme (4) and Alexander Edler (4).  … This marks the second time that all three Hughes brothers (Jack, Luke and Quinn) registered a point on the same day (also: April 13, 2023). … Miller (1-2—3) recorded his sixth three-point period with the Canucks, tying Henrik Sedin for fourth-most in franchise history behind Pavel Bure (8), Trevor Linden (8) and Markus Naslund (7). … The Canucks have conceded 15 goals through their first seven games this season. The only teams with fewer goals allowed are the Boston Bruins (11 in 7 GP) and New York Rangers (13 in 7 GP). … St. Louis dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen for a second straight game. … Mikheyev has a point in all three games for Vancouver (two goals, one assist) since returning Oct. 21 after missing the start of the season recovering from knee surgery.