In Vancouver, Thatcher Demko made 31 saves in a 2-0 shut out of the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night. 
“Happy for [Demko], because I think he’s been one of the best in the League for a while now, but in that position, it has a lot to do with statistics and with how loose we’ve been the last two years, he probably hasn’t gotten the recognition he deserves,” Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes said. “Now were starting to clean some stuff up, and you guys are starting to see his numbers.”
Vancouver improved to 32-11-4, and are 8-0-1 in their last nine matches.
“I thought [Demko] was solid as [heck]. We got the two-goal lead and a little prevent defense and won 2-0,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Obviously when you get a shutout, it’s always a team thing, but obviously, he’s a huge part of it.
“I love shutouts. I’d rather win 2-0 than 8-4 any day of the week. It gets you in the game, it means you’re doing the right things when you get a shutout.”
The Canucks took a 1-0 lead at 1:47 of the opening stanza on a goal from Pius Suter at the right side of the crease.
Andrei Kuzmenko assisted on both Vancouver goals.
Chicago dropped to 14-31-2.
“Let’s be honest, our record on the road isn’t great, and I think sometimes we’re wading into games on the road,” said Chicago forward Nick Foligno, who returned after missing seven games with a broken finger sustained Jan. 5. “Maybe I have a little bit better perspective watching a few games, and our tenacity and our compete and our readiness at home, it doesn’t seem to be [there on the road]. It’s almost like we’re waiting to see what they’re going to do before we respond and tonight, we get caught in that.”
Quinn Hughes scored at 6:40 of the first to push the lead to 2-0.
“[I am] trying to find those spots down low where I can score from there instead of the wristers from 80 feet out,” Hughes said. “I don’t know how many goals I have from that side. I want to say nine out of the 12. It’s definitely something I worked on, and a lot of my moves are on the left side being a left defenseman, and just trying to find ways to score and create more.”
Petr Mrazek made 27 saves in the loss.
“Well, that’s the best team in the League, and I think it was a little bit of them and a little bit of us,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “We just didn’t kill plays in the [defensive] zone, and they extended it and really came out ready to go. They flexed their muscles and showed why they’re No. 1 in the League.”
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