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 a goal and two assists, 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 outshot 19-3 in the first period after a 3-0 win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. 

“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 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.

He then made it 2-0 at 5:48 of the second, skating from the left point to the right 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,” Hughes said. “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.”

Phillip 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.

“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: It was Hughes' third career multigoal game; only four defensemen in Canucks history have more: Mattias Ohlund (seven), Rick Lanz (four), Jyrki Lumme (four) and Alexander Edler (four). … It was the second time that all three Hughes brothers (Jack, Luke and Quinn) had a point on the same day (April 13, 2023). … Vancouver has allowed 15 goals through seven games this season. The only teams with fewer goals allowed are the Boston Bruins (11 in seven games) and New York Rangers (13 in seven games). … St. Louis used 11 forwards and seven defensemen for a second straight game. … Mikheyev has a point in all three games for the Canucks (two goals, one assist) since returning Oct. 21 after missing the start of the season recovering from knee surgery.