The Vancouver Canucks welcomed back J.T. Miller to Rogers Arena on Tuesday for the first time since he was traded to the New York Rangers last season. He had faced his former team before at Madison Square Garden shortly after the trade, but this was his first trip to Vancouver as a visitor in a long time. He left the Canucks as one of their most productive players, finishing with 152 goals and 437 points in 404 games. His last game at Rogers Arena was on Jan. 25, 2025, and his last goal in Vancouver was on Nov. 16, 2024, when he scored against the Chicago Blackhawks.
In the end, it wasn’t Miller that beat the Canucks, but Mika Zibanejad and long-time thorn-in-the-side Jonathan Quick, with the former scoring the game-winner late in the first and the latter stopping 23 shots for his 64th career shutout and sixth against the Canucks. Sam Carrick added an empty-netter to seal it, and the Rangers beat the Canucks 2-0. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
After a bit of back-and-forth hockey, the Rangers started taking over the game after their first power play, on which Thatcher Demko made two highlight-reel saves. They didn’t score on that man advantage, but kept the momentum going at 5-on-5 and eventually opened the scoring with Zibanejad’s fourth of the season. The period ended with the Rangers up 1-0 and on the power play after Marcus Pettersson took a roughing penalty that was tacked onto a fighting major for standing up for Conor Garland after a hard hit by Carrick.
The second period didn’t see any scoring, with the Canucks unable to generate much on Rangers backup Jonathan Quick, despite having a power play. They were credited with seven shots, but only three scoring chances (zero high-danger) to the Rangers’ 12 (six high-danger). Thanks to Demko, the Canucks were still behind only 1-0 heading into the third.
New York Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick makes a save on Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)
The Canucks had a few more chances in the third period to tie it, but were stymied by Quick and some unlucky bounces in front of the net. They were also trying to do it without their leading scorer, Conor Garland, who didn’t return for the final period. They outshot the Rangers 12-7, but couldn’t find the tying goal and ended up losing 2-0 for their sixth loss of the season, dropping their record below .500 to 5-6-0. The Rangers, meanwhile, bounced back from their 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames and improved to 4-5-2.
Goaltending & Special Teams
Quick stopped all 23 shots he saw, while Demko countered with another solid game, allowing only one goal on 24 shots. Neither team were successful on the power play, with both going 0-for-3.
What’s Next?
The Canucks will head back onto the road for a quick three-game road trip, which begins on Thursday with a trip to St. Louis to take on the Blues for the second time this month. The Rangers, meanwhile, will head to Alberta to face the Oilers, also on Thursday.
