A pair of Norris Trophy finalists go head-to-head when Quinn Hughes’ Vancouver Canucks host Zach Werenski and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
The only defensemen to lead their teams in scoring last season, the Hughes-Werenski matchup is shaping up to be one of the NHL’s newest individual rivalries.
It may not carry the cachet of Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin, but the elite duo is clashing for the first time this season. Colorado’s Cale Makar won the top defenseman award last year, while Werenski finished second, just ahead of 2024 Norris Trophy winner Hughes.
Hughes and the Canucks are in the second game of a four-game homestand, and the team has alternated between a win and a loss for six straight games.
Vancouver is trying to avoid its second straight defeat after dropping a 5-2 decision to Chicago on Wednesday.
“We got to find some greasy goals, especially when not much is going right for us now,” Hughes said after Wednesday’s loss. “But if you ask the coaches, they would be more focused on our lapses in defense.”
The Canucks are struggling to capitalize on scoring chances, but there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. Vancouver native Evander Kane, who was acquired from Edmonton for a fourth-round pick, appears to have found his scoring touch with three goals in his last two games.
“It is not first time I have done it,” said Kane, one of just four Canadians on the Canucks’ roster. “This is a new team. I didn’t play all last regular season, so I am starting to get a feel for it.
“It took me a little longer than I would have liked and now I am starting to feel real good. “
Chicago’s Tyler Bertuzzi scored a third-period hat trick, including one on the power play, against Vancouver, which has the worst penalty kill (68.0%) in the Western Conference.
Neither Werenski nor Hughes is leading their teams in scoring this season, but their numbers remain solid. Werenski is tied for second with 10 points in 13 games, while Hughes has eight points in 11 games.
The Blue Jackets are hoping to avoid a third straight loss on the road after winning their previous four games.
“A couple plays ended up hurting us,” said Werenski after a 5-1 loss to Calgary on Wednesday. “We had chances in the third to score some goals. But we will move on and get ready for Vancouver.”
Columbus earned the respect of the league last season for the way it rallied to almost make the playoffs after the tragic loss of forward Johnny Gaudreau, who was struck and killed by a car while riding his bicycle.
The Blue Jackets managed to keep their core group intact despite losing a few key role players to free agency in the offseason.
They are led offensively this year by Russian forward Kirill Marchenko, who is on a six-game point streak (one goal, five assists).
The Blue Jackets hope to have first-line center Sean Monahan in the lineup against Vancouver. Monahan, who helps anchor the power play and takes key faceoffs, left Wednesday’s game in the third period with an undisclosed injury after taking an earlier hit from Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson.
Monahan missed two months last season with a wrist injury. If he is out Saturday, coach Dean Evason will likely slot 21-year-old Adam Fantilli into his spot on the first line with Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov.
Werenski said the Blue Jackets need to come out stronger than they did against Calgary.
“We have to start better in Vancouver,” he said. “Spotting a team two goals is always tough to come back from.
“We have the belief in the dressing room. But playing behind the whole night, those games are tough to win.”
