The Vancouver Canucks lost in heartwrenching fashion during their visit to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Despite a remarkable team effort, the Canucks fell to the Rangers by a score of 5-3. After the game, Quinn Hughes delivered a strong message to his teammates, including Elias Pettersson, about their performance against J.T. Miller‘s Blueshirts in a game that had the eyes of the NHL on it.
The Canucks lost both of their outings during their latest road trip in the 2024-25 NHL season. Both losses to kickstart their six-game stretch away from British Columbia were soul-crushing for the roster, though for different reasons.
Despite registering 39 shots on goal, against New York’s 12, Hughes and Vancouver lost to J.T. Miller and the Rangers, in a highly-anticipated matchup at Madison Square Garden. Following the 5-3 loss, Canucks captain Quinn Hughes voiced a strong and clear statement for his teammates.
“Nine times out of 10 I think we walk away with that one, but in this instance we don’t,” Hughes stated postgame, via NHL.com. “Can’t really complain too much with how we played. We’re playing gutsy now. I thought we competed hard, especially with two forwards down, going to 10 forwards in the third period.“
Quinn Hughes #43 of the Vancouver Canucks before the game at Climate Pledge Arena on March 01, 2025 in Seattle, Washington.
Miller speaks on rift with Pettersson
The main topic of conversation surrounding the Canucks this season was the dispute between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, which ultimately led to the former being traded to the Rangers. The two finally saw each other for the first time since the move, setting the stage for a marquee matchup, though Miller downplayed the situation.
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“The whole me-and-Petey thing, it’s still blown out of proportion,” Miller explained, via Sportsnet. “Clearly, if me and Petey were better than we were, obviously this might be different. But it’s also not as bad as everybody thought, either. It’s just an easy thing for everybody to run with. There was just a lot of moving parts.”
Dominance on the ice
The Canucks started the first period shot out of a cannon, coming in bunches at the Rangers, but failing to capitalize as they came across a sensational Igor Shesterkin in the opponents’ net.
Vancouver fired 20 shots on goal in the first period alone, while New York managed just three against Kevin Lankinen. After the game, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette delivered an honest assessment of his team’s sluggish start—a start that ended with the Broadway Blueshirts being booed off the ice as they headed to the first intermission.
J.T. Miller #8 of the New York Rangers skates against the Boston Bruins during the second period at the TD Garden on February 01, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.
“You can’t start the game like that, start a period like that,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said. “They were just quicker than us. They had the puck on their stick, and we were just chasing them.”
In the end, it paid off for Laviolette, Miller, and the Rangers, though their $11.5M AAV goaltender certainly came in handy to withstand the pressure from the Canucks. However, it’s not a sustainable recipe for success, and the Blueshirts could be walking on a tightrope.
