Quinn Hughes gets brutally honest about his OT performance in Canucks' win over Devils

Quinn Hughes spoke honestly about his overtime play after the Vancouver Canucks' 4-3 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Hughes played a season-high 31:38 minutes in which he registered six shots on goal with a rating of zero.

Quinn Hughes was talking to the media about goalie Thatcher Demko when he mentioned his play.

"Probably wasn't even, you know, close to 100% tonight, and he just gutted one out for us," Hughes said. "He was an absolute beast, and he's just one of the most competitive guys I know. And for him to come out and gut that one out for us and not save—he made it to overtime. You know, classic me playing a two-on-one like sh*t, but I can't say enough about Thatch."

Demko made 22 saves in his first start since Feb. 8. He had missed 15 games with a lower-body injury. Demko has a 7-6-3 record this season, ranking 59th in wins. His goals-against average is 2.87 and his save percentage is .890 with one shutout.

"You want to come in and contribute," Demko said. "The guys have been doing so well, competing every night, and you certainly don't want to come in and contribute the wrong way so huge fight from us, coming down to the last minute there and getting the extra point. So I'm just super proud of the team."

Conor Garland tied the game with 36 seconds left in the third period. Jonathan Lekkerimaki then won it for Vancouver in the shootout. Lekkerimaki also scored in regulation, while Pius Suter had a goal and an assist.

Quinn Hughes and the Canucks had lost two straight games before this win. With the victory, Vancouver moved within three points of the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Thatcher Demko is focused on winning like captain Quinn Hughes

Thatcher Demko said every win is important. Quinn Hughes is also giving his all to win these games and take the team to playoffs.

Demko said they are ready for the challenge (via NHL.com):

"I mean, every game is big, so every win right now is huge. We know that. We're ready for that. We've kind of had that mentality. I could feel it in the room the last couple of weeks and there's no turning down now."

Demko was outstanding in his last three games before the injury in February. He is like a wall in the net, allowing just one goal in those three games. If the Canucks regroup to improve their offense, they can still turn things around from this point.