Canucks 5, Canadiens 3: Miller backs up talk with four-point explosion

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Win the week has become win the day.

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Oh, carpe diem. As in seize the day, don’t seize up, and don’t fret about the future.

For the Vancouver Canucks, the margin for error in pursuit of a playoff position is minuscule. JT Miller sounded the alarm for what awaits in a crucial seven-game homestand that opened Wednesday at Rogers Arena.

“We’re looking at it that we have to win every game,” he admitted before puck drop against the suddenly resurgent Montreal Canadiens. “We put ourselves in this position and we have to buy into the fact that there are not going to be any easy games the rest of the way.

“We need to embrace it. When we play well and win it’s contagious in the room.”

Miller talked the talk and then walked the walk.

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Washington Capitals vs. Vancouver Canucks

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7 pm, Roger’s Arena. TV: Sportsnet. Radio: Sportsnet 650.

He not only extended his points streak with a four-point effort, his effort to snap a 2-2 draw in the third period was everything he had been preaching about with push and patience leading to productivity. Especially with the club committed to a strong and collective forecheck.

Miller came off the bench, created a turnover by getting the puck off Jeff Petry in the neutral zone and snapped home a wrist shot.

“I got away with another slash and I thought they were going to call it,” said Miller. “I knew the D-man was going to beat me to the net, so I just tried to rip it as hard as I could — I didn’t really see where it went.”

Elias Pettersson then did a dash, deke and a snap for a 4-2 cushion. Rem Pitlick then replied before Bo Horvat added an empty-netter for a 5-3 triumph.

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“I got the puck from Miller and just tried to make my guy go with a fake shot and then shoot from the side I came in,” said Pettersson. “It’s always fun to make the playoffs because you don’t know what can happen and we’re excited for that (possibility), but we’ve got to live in the moment.”

Miller now has a remarkable 21 points (7-14) in his last 10 outings and has continued to drag his club into the fight every night.

After all, he knows the road to the playoffs is full of potholes and you can easily drive into the ditch if nerves, discipline and special teams are a problem.

The math isn’t as complicated as the Canucks can sometimes make it if they don’t bring their total game. They are now three points shy of the final wild-card spot, must pass two teams and will likely need a 5-1-1 record on the homestand to stay in post-season contention.

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“I thought the second we got a little loose and turned over a lot more pucks,” said Miller. “But for the most part, we could have broken that game open in the second at any point. Garly (Conor Garland) had three chances.

“And it (forecheck) is predictable. When you see your linemates skating and keeping their feet moving, I have to go with them. We don’t really give the other team much room.”

Bruce Boudreau will take the points, but the coach pointed out that it was far from a Picasso. His club found a way to get it done and he was buoyed by an effective forecheck.

“It was a little sloppy at times,” he said. “We didn’t play a great game, but we played hard and answered the bell. And with JT, he has definitely taken over as the catalyst and the leader and it’s wonderful to see. You need that at this stage of the season.”

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Here’s what we learned as Travis Hamonic and Brock Boeser also scored for the Canucks while Artturi Lehkonen had two goals for the Canadiens.

BOESER SAVES PP DAY

The Canucks had won seven of their previous nine games by not only piling up five or more goals in five outings, they flexed some power play muscle by going 8-for-29 on the power play (28.1 per cent). They also had three games with perfect penalty killing.

The Canucks were also disciplined during that stretch and took just seven minors in a 3-1-0 trip where they got goals from 13 players.

On Wednesday, they managed just three shots on their first two power play chances against the league’s 29th-ranked penalty kill before finally connecting. Boeser, who was foiled on an even-strength backhand chance after being sprung by Tanner Pearson, got his own rebound at the side of the net on the power play to snap a 1-1 draw in the second period.

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However, Lehkonen was then left all alone at the top of the crease to jam the puck past Thatcher Demko. Tyler Myers then took a needless cross-check to snuff out momentum.

NERVES, GAFFE, GOAL

Boudreau started The Contract Line of fourth-line free agents Juho Lammikko, Tyler Motte and Matthew Highmore to set an early forechecking tempo. Good idea. Wrong result.

Fourteen seconds later, Motte took an offensive-zone tripping minor, and despite the phantom call, it was still an early indication that some nerves were probably at play.

It was evident when Nils Hoglander made a good dash down the wing and was denied on a wraparound. The winger then lost the handle of the puck in the offensive zone, and with Luke Schenn stranded at the blue-line, Lehkonen finished off a 2-on-1 advantage by going glove side.

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However, just 54 seconds later, a point shot by Hamonic made it through a maze and picked the far side stick. It was the 11th goal by a defenseman.

MILLER HITS OFF SWITCH

Players try to shut out the constant noise in advance of the March 21 trade deadline.

It’s not easy. Somebody is always chirping. And social media speculation has run rampant, involving a number of Canucks.

Miller went one better Wednesday morning to confirm that he isn’t glued to his cellphone or even aware of major sports developments outside the NHL.

As an ardent Pittsburgh Steelers admirer — he built an off-season home in the football-mad city — he knew the club needs a proven quarterback to replace the retired Ben Roethlisberger. So, when the Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, it was only natural to ask Miller was he thought of the blockbuster.

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“I didn’t even know — I just found out this morning,” said Miller. “I’m surprised Kuze (this reporter and Steelers supporter) hasn’t been all over me about this. You guys act so surprised with everything you ask me about the internet. I don’t know.”

That no-go zone validity adds to Miller’s mantra that he’s all business and not dialed into whoever may be deliberating about his playing future.

“They’re all rumors to begin with,” he stressed. “I don’t really look into it and I’m not taking anybody. With my agent, we’re just going about our business. I don’t think I’m getting traded and never thought I was getting traded. Everybody is speculating.”

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