Hughes lifts Canucks past Islanders in OT for fifth straight win

NEW YORK -- Quinn Hughes scored his second goal of the game 42 seconds into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks won their fifth straight game, 4-3 against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Saturday.

J.T. Miller scored his 20th goal and had an assist, and Chris Tanev had two assists for Vancouver (30-18-4), which is 2-0-0 on its five-game road trip. Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves.
The Canucks, who are in first place in the Pacific Division, are 14-3-0 since Dec. 19.
WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Islanders highlights]
"Obviously it's nice to contribute, because you want to feel like you're a part of it and you want to have an impact on the group," said Hughes, a rookie defenseman who has four goals in his past four games. "But it's nice that we're winning, because I remember a time not too long ago in early December when we lost three in a row and people were kind of losing it. So it's nice to have five in a row here.
"There will be another time for sure we lose two in a row; it's just a hard league the way it is, but it's good to get the points when you can get them."
Brock Nelson tied it 3-3 with 26 seconds remaining for New York (29-15-6), which outshot Vancouver 17-5 in the third period.

Hughes won it with a wrist shot from beyond the circles that eluded Thomas Greiss.
"A hundred percent, because he couldn't see it," Hughes said when asked if he thought he caught Greiss off guard. "I couldn't even see the goalie too; there was like three people in front of us. Just see if I can place it where I want to."
Michael Dal Colle and Jordan Eberle also scored for the Islanders, who played for the first time since Jan. 21. Greiss made 20 saves in his third straight start.
The Islanders are 4-5-3 in their past 12 games.

"That was a huge point," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "That might be the point that at the end of the day gets us in the playoffs. It really might, so you just don't know how it's going to play out until it's all over. But that was a huge point."
The Canucks scored on their first shot at 2:09 of the first period when Miller pounced on a loose puck in front after Tanev's shot from the point hit the post for a 1-0 lead.
"That's the fastest I've gotten there," Miller said of 20 goals. "I want more, to be honest. It's nice to get there, but you obviously don't want to be satisfied with that. I want to keep going."
Dal Colle redirected Josh Bailey's feed from the right circle to tie it 1-1 at 5:23 of the first.
Hughes gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead at 9:48 of the second period on a shot from a sharp angle that went off the skate of Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier and trickled past Greiss.

"You can't say enough about him," Canucks coach Travis Green said of Hughes. "He's playing so well and he's such a good kid."
Tim Schaller ended a 34-game goal drought when he scored on a rebound of Brandon Sutter's shot at 14:56 of the second to make it 3-1. It was his first goal since Oct. 28.
"A ton of relief," Schaller said. "That was 35 games of relief right there. That was great."
Eberle took a pass from Beauvillier and put a wrist shot past Markstrom at 16:45 of the second to make it 3-2.

They said it

"It's good to have swagger to a certain point. I think this team hasn't had that winning record lately in the last few years, so I think maybe there wasn't [swagger]. But this year, we feel good about ourselves; it's a different look. It's fun when we win. I think this team is buying into winning and doing what it takes to win. It's a really committed group." -- Canucks forward J.T. Miller
"This is going to be a long stretch. It's not going to be easy and it's that grind that makes this so much more exciting and so much more rewarding when you put yourself in a good position to end the season. I think that's what makes this all so great. We'll find energy when we need it." -- Islanders captain Anders Lee

Need to know

Miller extended his point streak to five games (four goals, three assists). … Canucks forward Tyler Motte will be out 4-6 weeks because of a shoulder injury. … Bailey has seven points (three goals, four assists) in the past six games. … It was Dal Colle's first goal since Dec. 14 (10 games). … Eberle has five goals in his past nine games. … Islanders forward Tom Kuhnhackl did not play in the third period. "I just thought he could be better in a couple areas," Trotz said.

What's next

Canucks: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday (2 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN360, SNW, SNP, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday (Barclays Center, 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-SW, NHL.TV)