GAME RECAP - CDC 23

In a game where circumstances put the Vancouver Canucks at a disadvantage, they defied the odds and came out more than ready for a matchup on Hockey Night in Canada, knocking off the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 at Scotiabank Arena.

Bad weather kept the Canucks in Raleigh, North Carolina overnight after they played the Hurricanes, but they were able to make their way up to Toronto Saturday morning, touching down in Toronto early afternoon to prepare for their tilt against the Leafs.

Head Coach Rick Tocchet said they didn’t dwell on it, they just focused on the game, and he saw that in their play.

“[We saw] a lot of heart. The last couple of years, this is a resilient group, it takes a lot of punches and gets back up, so this is one of those times we got back up,” Tocchet said, adding “I thought it was one of Petey’s best games of the year, I thought he was terrific. Blocked shots, that one at the end there where he dove – that back door play – it was a high hockey IQ, Petey didn’t press forward, he went back, he saw that was going to happen.”

Elias Pettersson said he liked the team’s effort, and they got it done by committee in Toronto.

“We got momentum right away; we got more juice from that and continue going. I think all the line were good, everybody played good and we helped each other,” Pettersson said.

He also mentioned that arriving in the city the same day you play was reminiscent of his junior hockey career and a nice familiar feeling.

Kevin Lankinen tallied his fourth shutout of the season, stopping all 20 shots he faced.

Goals

Less than a minute into the game, Boeser had a tip-in off of Tyler Myers’ shot from the point.

With the goal, Boeser cracked the top 10 goal scorers in Canucks’ history with 194 through nine seasons with the club.

Hughes scored from the point, sending the puck so hard to the net that when it hit traffic net front, it perfectly flipped over Leafs’ goaltender Dennis Hildeby into the back of the net.

The Canucks took a 2-0 lead going into the second intermission.

Kiefer Sherwood lit the lamp in the opening minute of the third period from the right circle off a pass from Hughes crossing the ice and coming down the right side.

Up Next

The Canucks wrap up their road trip in Winnipeg against the Jets on Tuesday, January 14th at 5 p.m. PT.