Miller has five assists, Canucks top Coyotes to gain in Pacific race

VANCOUVER --J.T. Miller had an NHL career-high five assists, and the Vancouver Canucks gained ground in the Pacific Division race with a 7-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Rogers Arena on Thursday.

Vasily Podkolzin had two goals and an assist, Alex Chiasson scored twice, Quinn Hughes had three assists, and Thatcher Demko made 21 saves for Vancouver (37-28-10), which has won five in a row and has points in 10 of the past 12 (7-2-3).
"It's just one of those games, I guess, where we seem to have open ice a little bit and guys are driving the net," Miller said of his line with Podkolzin and Chiasson. "I'm just passing it to them, they're the ones putting it in the net."

The Canucks moved four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division. They also gained in the Western Conference wild card race, moving five points behind the Dallas Stars, who lost 3-2 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, and Nashville Predators, who lost 4-0 to the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars and Predators are tied for the two wild card spots in the west.
Miller has been a big part of the push, with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in his past 12 games, and an NHL career-best 91 points (29 goals, 62 assists) in 73 games.
"I try to feel like I'm never satisfied. I've got an amazing opportunity since I've been here, I've gotten to play in every situation, which is something I've worked for my whole career," Miller said. "But that being said, it doesn't really mean [much] to me if we don't play in the playoffs. It's great, but I'm not in this for the personal game. … I really just want to play in the playoffs because when you score in the playoffs, that's when it means a lot."
Karel Vejmelka allowed six goals on 22 shots before being pulled after two periods for Arizona (22-47-5), which has lost five straight. Harri Sateri made four saves in relief.
"I like the way we played in the third period," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "We showed more pride in the third period. For me, that's our team. That's the way we have to fight. … We gave up, what, 27 shots? There are some positives there."
Chiasson put the Canucks ahead 1-0 at 10:18 of the first period by redirecting a Miller pass at the side of the crease.
Sheldon Dries scored his first goal for the Canucks on a power-play deflection at 19:00 to make it 2-0.

Elias Pettersson made it 3-0 on a power-play one-timer at 4:29 of the second period, a goal coach Bruce Boudreau said was the most important of the game.
"You get that third goal when your team is losing a lot like they are, it becomes a really daunting, uphill battle," Boudreau said.
Vancouver finished 3-for-4 with the man-advantage and has scored at least two power-play goals in four of the past five games, going 9-for-19 (47.4 percent).
"I'm disappointed about the number of penalties and the way we took our penalties," Tourigny said. "We know they feed off their power play a lot, so we give them the opportunity and they did what they had to do."
Andrew Ladd cut it to 3-1 at 10:38 by batting in a rebound on a power play.
Podkolzin scored on a power-play breakaway at 15:25 to push the lead to 4-1, then assisted on Conor Garland's goal 14 seconds later to make it 5-1 at 15:39.

Podkolzin converted a cross-ice pass from Miller at 19:33 for a 6-1 lead, and Chiasson finished a 2-on-1 pass from Miller at 8:26 of the third period for the 7-1 final. Neither Podkolzin nor Chiasson were playing in a top-six role with Miller before recent injuries to Brock Boeser and Tanner Pearson.
"We don't want to waste this opportunity," said Chiasson, who has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a five-game point streak that matches his longest in the NHL. "[Miller] has been the head of the bus all year and I'm just trying to help with the injuries and stuff."
Canucks center Bo Horvat left 1:36 into the second period after taking an Anton Stralman shot off the inside of his right ankle.
"I think he's going to be okay," Boudreau said. "At the end, I just didn't want to bring him back. We had a comfortable lead so there was no sense doing anything, but we're really hoping he's going to be ready for Monday (against Dallas)."
NOTES:Ladd, who is three games from 1,000 in the NHL, was a game-time decision and needed treatment after the game. "He was much better tonight, way less pain," Tourigny said. "We need his leadership. We need the veteran presence." … Garland has seven points (two goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak. … Horvat's point streak ended at five games and eight points (five goals, three assists). … Dries scored his first goal since Jan. 19, 2019, when he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche. He signed a one-year contract with Vancouver on July 28. … It was Podkolzin's first multigoal game in the NHL. … Miller is the fourth Vancouver player to have 60 assists in a season and first since Henrik Sedin had 67 in 2011-12. … The Canucks record for assists in a game is six, by Patrik Sundstrom on Feb. 29, 1984. … It was the 10th three-assist game for Hughes, the most by a defenseman in Canucks history. The 22-year-old has 52 assists. … Pettersson has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in the past nine games. … The Coyotes have allowed at least five goals in each game in the losing streak and been outscored 29-6. … Vancouver swept the three-game season series, outscoring Arizona 17-3.