Hughes continues Calder Trophy push

It was the Quinn Hughes show Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn. The standout rookie was the best player on the ice in the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-3 overtime win against the New York Islanders, scoring two goals including the overtime winner.

The win helps extend the Canucks’ lead in the Pacific

Division, is their fifth in a row, and improves them to 14-3-0 in their past 17 games. That stretch now includes two winning streaks of at least five games.

Hughes’ emergence as a top-pairing defenseman and a Calder Trophy favorite has been one of the biggest factors — probably the biggest — in the Canucks’ emergence in the Western Conference, and he is only getting better every game.

The game Saturday was truly phenomenal, not only because of the two goals, but with the way he helped control the pace of the game. No Canucks player logged more even-strength minutes than Hughes’ 20:14, and they were game-changing minutes.

Panthers

Florida’s six-game winning streak ended with an ugly 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. It was a complete clunker of a game that saw the Panthers get dominated in every phrase as they returned to the ice after their nine-day break. The result of the game probably is not their biggest concern. That has to be the status of center Aleksander Barkov after he exited the game midway through the second period with an undisclosed lower -body injury. He played just a little more than 10 minutes before leaving the game.

Elsewhere

Eighteen of the 20 players from the Miracle on Ice roster — including captain Mike Eruzione and goalie Jim Craig — will share their memories with hockey fans when they gather for the anniversary celebration Feb. 21 and 22 in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights will play host to an event for the former players and season ticket holders Feb. 21 at Brooklyn Bowl, an 80,000-square-foot event center that features 32 bowling lanes and a gigantic music venue. The blockbuster event Feb. 22 at Thomas & Mack Center will include video of never-before-seen moments from the team’s improbable run.