HEAT ON HUGHES
Vegas targets rookie star
A calm and reassuring voice of reason is never far away for Quinn Hughes.
For the Vancouver Canucks’ fleet-footed and laser-like passing defenceman, who feels enormous pressure on his rookie shoulders to be a dynamic difference maker, a rough night in the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be put in perspective by his supportive defence partner.
Chris Tanev has been the glue on those rare occasions when Hughes hasn’t lived up to his own sky-high expectations. One of those nights came Sunday in a sobering 5-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Hughes was hounded and targeted in his own zone early and often during the second-round series opener. He was pressured at the point and his ability to walk the line and seek out the best passing and shooting options was nullified by quick coverage and quick sticks in the lanes.
It got to the point where Hughes was visibly upset at the bench and got a reassuring pat on the back from coach Travis Green and encouragement from forward Brandon Sutter.
Hughes had 10 points (1-9) in his first 10 post-season games — just the fourth rookie defenceman to hit that mark in 10 or fewer games — and being limited to no shots, two attempts and a minus-3 rating on Sunday simply sucked.
However, if you expect Hughes to unravel like a ball of string tonight in Game 2, you don’t know Hughes. Tanev does. And don’t let a 10-year age difference fool you. These guys are tight.
“We always talk,” Tanev said Monday. “We hang out together quite a bit and we’re always talking about hockey. What can we do? What can we do better? Or, what do we like about our games? We’re always trying to get little things better with how we play.
“Things aren’t going to go your way every night, and obviously, we weren’t good enough (in Game 1). But I have no doubt in my mind that next game he’s going to be fine and be flying out there.”
The mutual admiration between the blue-liners has a lot to do with that prediction.
When the Canucks were in Toronto for a Hockey Night in Canada meeting with the Maple Leafs on Feb. 29, Hughes was surrounded by a morning media mob. But Hughes was quick to toss bouquets at Tanev for being much more than just a shot blocker.
“He has been unbelievable,” said Hughes. “A great guy to lean on for more support off the ice and on it. He’s probably one of the most underrated players in the game — a big part of our team.”
How big?
Most of the time he makes a great play, and once in a while a play that’s not the best.
Aside from the usual stuff you hear about Tanev’s dedication — the warrior mentality and the fearlessness — it’s the smarts that don’t get enough credit.
“People don’t see how good he is in the offensive zone,” said Hughes. “I think our brains are pretty similar in a sense that, when I’m doing something, he knows what I’m doing if we’re criss-crossing.”
An example of that came on Sunday. Elias Pettersson laboured through a difficult night, but the slick centre made one of those special plays and Tanev reacted in a way that could prove effective in Game 2 against the Golden Knights.
On one of the few forays into the offensive zone, Pettersson drew two defenders and slipped a blind back pass between his skates and onto the blade of a pinching Tanev. He got a good shot away and finished with four shot attempts.
Tanev knows his place, though, and knows Hughes is the story. He’s happy to be the sidebar.
“A lot (of players) are fast in a straight line, but to get from two feet left to four feet right in the blink of an eye, is very dangerous,” Tanev said of Hughes. “He uses his body and edges tremendously to create that space. Most of the time he makes a great play, and once in a while a play that’s not the best. But he shakes it off.
“He comes back and makes another great play.”
And that’s what Green expects tonight.
The stakes are higher now, but the attention is no different than it was when Max Domi twice crosschecked Hughes from behind in Montreal early during a 4-3 overtime victory over the Canadiens on Feb. 25. Green told Hughes at the bench not to get down and maybe try to avoid the contact. He finished with an assist, four shots, six attempts and two blocked shots.
On Sunday, the message from Green was similar.
“I did talk to Quinn briefly last night (Sunday) and I will again,” said Green. “But good players adapt and adjust in different series. ... The one good thing about good young players is they adjust to different situations.”