Hughes Gets 30th Point of the Season, Canucks Beat Sharks 3-1

The second meeting of the Canucks and Sharks was a bit different, but Vancouver battled for the win and are 13-5-1 on the season.

Quinn Hughes became the third defenceman in NHL history to record 30 points in a season in fewer than 20 games (8-22-30) in 19 games. His message has been the same all season, he’s not concerned with personal accolades, all that matters are wins.

“I was second in the league for defencemen for points last year and it doesn't really mean much at the end of the day. I wanted to be in the playoffs and be on a successful team and successful organization and we've been successful start here and we got to keep going,” Hughes said.

Head coach Rick Tocchet saw his team get anxious to score early in the game but was encouraged with his team finding their composure and sticking to their game plan.

“I thought there were some really good parts of the game. I just didn’t want us to get frustrated. The Sharks worked hard. It was a hard-working game,” Tocchet said.

“You can’t sell the farm on every play. So sometimes it’s good to have those games where it’s 0-0 halfway through the game and it’s okay. That’s something we’ve got to keep learning.”

The Canucks are now 11-0-0 with a lead after two periods and Thatcher Demko now has a 10-0-0 record against San Jose.

Game Recap

Vancouver and San Jose went back and forth in the first period and the Canucks had an opportunity on the power play early in the first but neither team scored going into the first intermission.

In the second period, captain Hughes cruised down the left side and released a shot from the bottom of the left circle finding the back of the net to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead.

The Canucks’ penalty kill saw action only in the middle frame – taking their first penalty at 14:32 – holding the Sharks off on their first attempt.

Andrei Kuzmenko had a near-make but hit the cross bar and it wasn’t long after that Vancouver scored their second goal of the night.

Vancouver took a five-minute match penalty at 18:31 and the PK was back at it. The Canucks were aggressive closing out the middle frame shorthanded, Sam Lafferty caught a rebound off Teddy Blueger’s shot attempt and whacked it in just before time expired, giving Vancouver a 2-0 lead going into the second intermission.

“To get that two-goal cushion, it’s a short-handed goal, [we] got some juice - I saw it. After that we had a bunch of o-zone time with guys were getting some chances,” Tocchet said. He also mentioned they needed to be cautious diving in while and opposing teams leaking out for two-on-one opportunities. 

San Jose started the third period on the power play, Sharks’ forward Tomas Hertl scored to get his team on the board, but Vancouver didn’t concede another goal on the PK.

Hughes got an assist to bring his point total to 30 after the Sharks took a penalty for too many men on the ice. Hughes fired a shot on net, Beauviller and Miller crashed the crease, and Miller found the loose puck and buried it into the back of the net for the Canucks’ third goal of the night. 

The Canucks head out on a three-game road trip with their first stop in Colorado on Wednesday, November 22nd at 7 p.m.