Jonathan Quick stole the spotlight in JT Miller's return to British Columbia on Tuesday night, making 23 saves to help his New York Rangers shut out the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 at Rogers Arena.
It was the 64th career shoutout for the two-time Stanley Cup champion, tying Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist for the 17th most in National Hockey League history, per Rangers PR. It was also Quick's 406th career NHL victory; he needs just one more to tie Glenn Hall (407) for 12th place overall.
“Any time your name is in a category with Hank, it's special,” Quick said afterwards, per NHL.com's Kevin Woodley. “But at the end of the day, it's a much needed two points, and hopefully we can build off this game.”
An all-time great himself, Quick has been an inspiration for a ton of goalies around the league — including Canucks starter Thatcher Demko, who made 23 saves on 24 shots.
“He was my idol. I grew up in San Diego, and he was kind of coming up through the ranks in L.A. and he was definitely a guy that I always idolized,” Demko said, per Woodley. “I've been around him a little bit over the years, just kind of working out in the summer and things like that, especially early in my career, and he got the better of me tonight.”
Miller also took time to single out New York's excellent goaltending in his first game at Rogers Arena since being traded from the Canucks to the Rangers during the 2024-25 season.
“We're lucky we got two unbelievable goalies we have total faith in every single game,” said the captain. “He's been doing this forever, and he played unreal again today.”
Rangers badly needed the two points
Although Miller's return to Vancouver and Quick's milestone shutout were key storylines, the Rangers will just be happy to pick up two points — something that has been very challenging in the early going.
New York still hasn't won a game on home ice, and overall, they're a disappointing 4-5-2 through 11 games. That has the squad just a point away from last place in the Metropolitan Division. It's been a very difficult start by all accounts, and Tuesday's win was critical.
“Just a way better start, more urgent, assertiveness in our game,” Miller explained, per Woodley. “Controlled play for two periods and then play with the lead in the third — that's how you want to play on the road.”
The Blueshirts have been fine away from Madison Square Garden, going 4-1-1 on the road. But an 0-4-1 record in New York is head-scratching, to say the least.
It's been a challenging start to Mike Sullivan's tenure in the Big Apple, although there is still quite a bit of talent on the roster. It'll be interesting to see if the club can start to turn things around after the cross-conference triumph.
What the Rangers do have going for them is two excellent goaltenders, and that was on full display on Tuesday night.
