VANCOUVER -- Ryan Miller did not know the late Pat Quinn very well, but the Vancouver Canucks goaltender helped honour his memory in a big way Tuesday night.

Miller made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the New Jersey Devils 2-0. The victory came after Vancouver held a pre-game ceremony to honour Quinn, a former Canucks player, coach and executive who died Sunday in Vancouver.

"It was pretty powerful," said Miller of the opportunity to help give his club a win in Quinn's honour. "I have gotten caught up on the history just in the last few days. It's unfortunate I didn't have more of an opportunity to interact with him. I'm not even sure how many games I was on the ice when he was coaching."

Alex Burrows and Shawn Matthias scored as the Canucks (15-6-1) moved into second place in the Western Conference. Vancouver has earned three wins in its last four games.

"This is a difficult day for a lot of people in this organization," said Burrows, who returned after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. "It's a sad day, but I thought we wanted to respond well and get the win. I think, at the end of the day, that's probably what Pat would have wanted the most."

The Canucks outshot the Devils 36-20, controlling most of the play until the Devils attempted a late surge that Miller held off.

Cory Schneider stopped 34 shots for New Jersey (9-10-3), which suffered its fourth loss in five games. Schneider remains winless in three games against his former team.

"They (Vancouver) didn't sit back," said Schneider. "They dictated the way they wanted to play, and it seemed like we were trying to catch up all night."

Neither team could score in the first period before the Canucks scored to take a 1-0 following two periods.

The game was eight and a half minutes old before the Devils recorded their first shot on goal. Meanwhile, the Canucks posted 10 shots en route to outshooting the visitors 17-5 in the opening period.

Burrows put the Canucks on the scoreboard 1:14 into the second period as he deflected in defenceman Kevin Bieksa's shot from the blue-line.

In the third period, Burrows hit the post as he elected to shoot on a two-on-one, but the Canucks stood out more for defence and goaltending.

Matthias gave Vancouver a 2-0 lead with over five minutes left. Schneider stopped him on a breakaway, but the rebound went in off the skate of Devils defenceman Marek Zidlicky.

"That's kind of how it's been a little bit this year," said Schneider. "We're still in games and a late one like that, bad luck, bad bounce, whatever, kind of puts us out of it."

Before the game, a moment of silence was held for Quinn and a video tribute was played while Mark Donnelly sang "Oh, Danny Boy. Fans showed their approval with a standing ovation.

Bieksa said the tribute helped the Canucks come out "flying" with "a lot of emotion."

"I felt like I had a little bit of extra energy in my veins to start the game," he said.

The Canucks hope the energy will carry forward as they embark on a seven-game road trip, their longest of the season, which begins Saturday in Columbus.

"It's going to be a tough trip and we know that," said Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins.

Notes -- Vancouver winger Zack Kassian missed the final nine minutes after taking a slash. Desjardins said he did not have an update on Kassian's condition. à New Jersey defenceman Bryce Salvador (lower-body), John Merrill (arm), and winger Ryan Clowe (head) remained out with injuries. à Rookie centre Bo Horvat will remain a Canuck, and have the first year of his contract activated, rather than return to London of the Ontario Hockey League. General manager Jim Benning will decide later whether to loan him to Canada for the World Junior championships. à The Canucks also honoured Abbotsford, B.C., golfer Nick Taylor, who attended the game, for his first PGA tournament victory.