Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller has spent the last five seasons of his career in British Columbia, becoming a core piece of the franchise thanks to his incredible offence. This season, however, both he and his counterparts have turned it up to a whole other level. Even while the Canuchs’ red-hot form faltered a bit in February, he raised his game. Here’s a look.
Millers Numbers, Numbers, Numbers…
Since spending the All-Star Break surrounded by the league’s stars in Toronto, Miller has been on a tear. In 13 games since the mid-season pause, he’s racked up an impressive 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists). Noted for being a “power-play merchant” by some, all but two of those goals came at 5-on-5.
Miller’s elite month of February has him well-paced to shatter his single-season points record (99 set back in 2021-22), as he’s averaging 1.32 points per game. Take that number and multiply it by 82 and he’s on pace for 108 points. He’s been magical this year and last month was no different. Miller drove the second line with such speed and aggression that it would wow a Formula 1 Driver.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Miller’s line had the highest 5-on-5 expected goals-for percentage (xG%) among all Canucks lines last month (58.4%). It’s no surprise that his linemates Brock Boeser and Pius Suter are having great success since he’s been the straw that stirs the drink all season, especially in February.
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His best game of the month was against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 24. Canucks fans know how important those games are as they collectively try and move on from the heartbreaking 2011 Stanley Cup Final loss. Given the way Miller played against them on that Saturday night, it seemed like he had the same mentality, too.
He finished the game with three assists, including the game-winning assist in overtime off a beautiful feed to Boeser on the power play. Rogers Arena went hysterical – you could barely hear the Canucks’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” goal song.
Miller’s Final Stretch of Season
As the grass turns greener and the trees start to bloom, luckily, the Canucks have all but wrapped up a spot in the postseason – it would take a monumental collapse for them to not finish the season as Pacific Division champions.
The whole team deserves credit for that, especially general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford for putting the team together and adding the right depth to support players like Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. However, their play in February was far from solid, and they can’t rely on Miller playing out of his mind for too long.
Many storylines are swirling through Vancouver at the moment, whether it be Pettersson’s contract talks or reported interest in Jake Guentzel (according to Rick Dhaliwal and Elliotte Friedman). Miller’s play helped keep a potential storm of bad results and rumours at bay, leaving the Canucks in a better spot than expected after dropping four straight games in February.
These final two months are crucial, not just for Miller, but for everyone in the organization. Vancouver can’t rely on their American centre to carry them much longer, but if he plays close to this level, the Canucks will be in great shape. Others will have to pick up the slack, of course, but that shouldn’t be a concern. What is important is that Miller is at the height of his career, making his team that much more dangerous as they gear up for their quest to lift the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.