Canucks Celebrate Boeser's 500th Game In Style With 4-0 Victory Over The Panthers

The Vancouver Canucks played a near-perfect game on Thursday, shutting out the Florida Panthers 4-0. Carson Soucy, Danton Heinen, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk found the back of the net, while Kevin Lankinen made 27 saves for his third shutout of the season. The game was a special one as not only did J.T. Miller return to the lineup, but Boeser became the 28th player to play 500 games with the organization.

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As mentioned, tonight marked the return of Miller, who missed the last ten games due to personal reasons. Miller was strong in his return, recording two assists while going 12 for 20 in the faceoff dot. His return also allowed the Canucks to balance their forward minutes, with no forward logging more than 17 minutes in the win.

Rick Tocchet was asked about Miller post-game, saying, "I mean, he's arguably one of the best players in the league. He's a big part of our team. That's hard to do; not play for a month to come in there and do what he did. Played him against Barkov. He played 14,15; that's kind of what I wanted to play him. I thought he did a good job against Barkov. He's a big guy in the middle. It's tough to go around him.

It was also a special night as Boeser hit the 500-game mark in his NHL career. Boeser celebrated the milestone by scoring his eighth of the season and Vancouver's third goal of the game. When asked post-game about hitting the milestone, Boeser said, "It means a lot. Very grateful. It's a great league to play in and to do it in one city, it means a lot to me. I love this place so, fun day."

One line that stepped up was the fourth line of Max Sasson, Teddy Blueger and Heinen, who finished the game with a combined five points. When asked about the trio, Tocchet said, "They played really well. There was some speed. I thought Danton was really good tonight; one of his best games this year. Sass did a hell of a job holding pucks. I thought he was good. Yeah, that line was good; it really helps. Obviously, getting Milsey (Miller) back kind of slots everybody. I think everybody got pretty well the same amount of ice time, which is nice.

While it was a strong night all around, the Canucks star player from this game was Lankinen. He once again made multiple highlight reel saves and stepped up massively during the second period, stopping all 13 shots he faced. Outside of Quinn Hughes, Lankinen has been this team's MVP and played a crucial role in Vancouver's sweep of the defending Stanley Cup champions.

In the end, this was arguably the Canucks best game of the season. They boxed out well in front of their net and were able to match the Panthers' physicality from start to finish. If Vancouver can put together more efforts like this, they will make Rogers Arena a very tough place to play for the rest of the season.

Facts and Stats:

- Kevin Lankinen ties Gary Bromley and Johan Hedberg for the 14th most shutouts in franchise history

- Max Sasson becomes the 325th player in franchise history to record a multi-assist game

- Canucks record their first home shutout since March 9, 2024 against the Winnipeg Jets

- Kiefer Sherwood records at least eight hits for the tenth time this season

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

2:23- VAN: Carson Soucy (1) from Max Sasson and Teddy Blueger
18:41- VAN: Danton Heinen (4) from Max Sasson and Teddy Blueger

2nd Period:

4:53- VAN: Brock Boeser (8) from J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes

3rd Period:

12:55- VAN: Jake DeBrusk (14) from Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller

Up Next:

The Canucks will be looking to build off this win Saturday against the Boston Bruins. This will be the second time these two teams have met, with Vancouver winning the first matchup 2-0. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT from Rogers Arena.