VANCOUVER — After months of battling their way back into contention, the Vancouver Canucks finally saw their faint playoff hopes snuffed out.
The Canucks dumped the struggling Seattle Kraken 5-2, but when the Dallas Stars edged the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout earlier Tuesday night, Vancouver was officially eliminated.
Defenceman Quinn Hughes said the news filtered through the bench while the Canucks (39-30-11) were still playing.
“We knew our chances weren’t great so it is what it is at this point," he said. "It's definitely disappointing, but in saying that I mean, we’ve got to be a little proud of ourselves and the way we pushed for the last three and a half months. I really do think that we can carry us in the next year."
A playoff push seemed unlikely for Vancouver back in early December when the club fired head coach Travis Green and general manager Jim Benning following an ugly 8-15-2 start to the season.
But the Canucks installed Bruce Boudreau behind the bench and under his guidance, the team has gone 31-15-9.
“The guys now they hate to lose, and you can see it on their face … that they go out to play games and they expect to win the games," said Boudreau. "I think that's what you want in a hockey club that they expect to win games when they get up there. And then in the end, no matter if you're playing bad or good, they'll sacrifice to win the game.”
The Canucks persevered for the win over Seattle Tuesday.
Hughes had a goal and two assists as he set a franchise record for points by a Canucks' defenceman. Oliver Ekman-Larsson added one of each, Sheldon Dries, J.T. Miller and Luke Schenn all scored and Conor Garland contributed three assists.
Jordan Eberle and Connor Geekie replied for the Kraken (26-47-6) in a penalty-filled second period.
Vancouver was playing without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko, who Boudreau said had a "little bit of an ouch." Spencer Martin took over the Canucks' net and stopped 31 of 33 shots for his second NHL win.
Martin said it was simply a chance for him to prove his worth.
“My goal is be (in the NH) full time and I’m not full time right now," he said. "So just every chance I get to play or practice with these guys, I'm trying to show that I can hang around and help them next year and going forward. So I'm not taking anything for granted.”
Joey Daccord made 22 saves for Seattle, which lost its third straight.
Hughes capped his milestone night with a goal 15:59 into the third.
The defenceman and Garland escaped the defensive zone on a two on one, and Garland sliced a pass across the slot to Hughes who tapped it in for his eighth goal of the season and his 66th point.
A lucky bounce helped the Canucks put away their fourth goal of the night.
Daccord stopped a shot in tight from Matthew Highmore, but saw the puck bounce off his stick and up over his head, landing in the crease behind him. Schenn knocked it in over the goal line 13:08 into the third to make it 4-2.
Vancouver took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission but struggled to protect the lead. The home side was outshot 26-14 across the second and third periods.
Penalties dismantled the Canucks' game in the second. Vancouver was called for five separate infractions across the frame and had to weather three minutes and 42 seconds of five-on-three play.
The Kraken cut the deficit to a single goal 9:12 into the second. Riley Sheahan dished a puck to Geekie from along the end boards and the forward sent a shot up and over Martin's glove to make it 3-2.
Seattle got on the board with a power-play tally 4:59 into the period after Brad Richardson was called for tripping.
Eberle sent a shot into the top corner from in tight for his 20th goal in a Kraken jersey.
Vancouver was 1 for 3 with the man advantage and Seattle went 1 for 8.
Ekman-Larsson gave the Canucks a 3-0 advantage with a power-play goal midway through the first after Carson Soucy was called for cross-checking.
Using a screen in front of the net, the Vancouver defenceman fired a shot from just inside the blue line to notch his fifth goal of the season 15:05 into the game.
Vancouver outplayed the visitors mightily through the first, with the Kraken going the first 11 minutes without a shot on goal despite a two-minute power play.
“First sleepy start we've had in a while and they capitalized on a couple early chances," said Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol. "It was a sleepy start, that's all and most times you really struggle to recover from a start of a period like that. Give our guys credit for recovering."
The Canucks went up 2-0 just 3:34 into the first when Garland slipped Miller a back pass and the feisty forward unleashed a blast from the high slot, sending the puck sailing past Daccord's glove.
Hughes got a secondary assist on the play, his 64th point of the season. The tally sets a new single-season record for points by a Canucks defenceman, passing a mark set by Doug Lidster in 1986-87.
The achievement hadn't sunk in for the 22-year-old Hughes after the game.
"There's been a lot of good players here so I'm definitely humbled right now," he said. "And for me, I think just in my crazy mind, I have more goals that I want to do and I'm just gonna keep going.”
Hughes set a franchise record for assists by a defenceman on Saturday when he notched his 56th of the season in Vancouver's 6-3 loss to Calgary.
The Kraken will host the L.A. Kings on Wednesday. The Kings will then head north to take on the Canucks in Vancouver on Thursday.
NOTE: Canucks defenceman Travis Dermott missed the game with an injury. Vancouver forward William Lockwood was out with an upper-body injury. … Kraken right-winger Daniel Sprong played his 200th NHL regular-season game. … The Canucks, playing their first game in Vancouver since the death of Guy Lafleur on Friday, played a video tribute for the hockey legend during the signing of O'Canada.
