The Canucks scored once in each of their previous two games, home losses against the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers.
"It's just important we stay with it because nobody's going to get this tide to turn faster than we are," Miller said. "It's just nice to see a couple of pucks go in for our group, and hopefully the flood gates kind of open up a little bit for us."
Vancouver killed a 36-second 5-on-3 power play with 3:40 left in the third. Demko made three saves against Panarin late in the second penalty despite losing his stick and blocker earlier in the sequence.
"It was amazing to watch," Canucks coach Travis Green said. "I think it just showed the desire of our group to sell out and find a way to get the job done and we had 'Demmer' making a couple unbelievable saves, guys laying their bodies on the line.
"That's what you want to see out of your team; a heavy desire to win, a will to win that takes you to levels that maybe you don't always do."
Demko made one save by kicking the puck with the heel of his skate while down on his stomach, and another while holding his bare hand behind him.
"Just guys battling, it was ugly," Demko said. "Got my eyes on the puck and just trying to get a piece of it."
NOTES: Fox scored his 100th point (15 goals, 85 assists) in his 135th NHL game. Among defensemen to debut with the Rangers, only
Brian Leetch
(102 games) and
Sergei Zubov
(108) reached that milestone in fewer games. … Rangers forward Ryan Reaves missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury but could return at Edmonton on Friday. … Canucks defenseman Travis Hamonic made his season debut and had two hits and two blocked shots in 16:56 of ice time. Hamonic missed training camp and the start of the season for personal reasons.