Ryan Miller, Canucks defeat Maple Leafs in shootout

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Canucks goalie Ryan Miller wanted a chance to bounce back from his previous performance, but wasn't sure he'd get the chance so soon.
Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins provided him with the opportunity and Miller made the most of it, making 38 saves through overtime and stopping two of three in the shootout to lead the Canucks to a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Rogers Arena on Saturday.

"I wanted to bounce back after Anaheim, I left that game with bad feelings," said Miller, who made 21 saves in a 3-1 loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday that included a 52-foot slap shot between his legs late in the game. "I felt like I let the guys down. I wanted to do something to pick them up."
WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Canucks highlights
Miller made his best saves with the Canucks being outshot 11-4 in the third period and 7-1 in overtime, including a point-blank stop on Tyler Bozak with 2:22 left in the third.
Markus Granlund and Bo Horvat scored in the first two rounds of the shootout before Mitch Marner beat Miller in the second round for the Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen stopped Canucks forward Brandon Sutter to keep the shootout alive, but Miller smothered Bozak's shot in the third round to secure the win for the Canucks despite blowing a two-goal lead.
"He made some pretty miraculous saves, some game-changing saves," Horvat said.
Daniel Sedin and Sven Baertschi scored for Vancouver (11-12-2), which won for the third time in four games despite being outplayed for long stretches.
Miller, who leads the NHL in shootout wins with a 57-33 record, also made a save against Auston Matthews in the first round of the shootout.
"Willie gave me a chance," Miller said. "I didn't know if I would start. He said in front of all the guys I would be going. I needed to get my head on straight."
Andersen returned after missing practice Friday because of an illness to make 22 saves for the Maple Leafs (10-9-5), who ended their Western Canada road trip with consecutive losses.
James van Riemsdyk scored his 11th goal of the season on a power play rebound with 8:30 left in the second period to start the comeback. Matthews scored his 11th goal of the season, and fifth in the past five games, 1:56 into the third period to tie it 2-2.
"Second and third period we took over, we had most of the possession, creating a lot of opportunities," Matthews said. "It's our job to put the puck in the net, but [Miller] definitely stood on his head."

Goal of the game

Matthews scored after Martin Marincin's point shot deflected behind the net and Zach Hyman passed it quickly back out to Matthews in the slot for a quick shot high glove side. It was Matthews' ninth goal on the road this season, tying him for second in the NHL.

Save of the game

With 2:22 left in the third period, van Riemsdyk won a race to a loose puck left of the Canucks net and dropped a pass to an open Bozak inside the left faceoff circle. But Miller pushed out quickly and got most of the one-touch shot, then gloved the loose puck out of the air.

Unsung moment of the game

Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev tied up the stick of forward Alexandre Burrows to prevent him from scoring on a rebound of a 2-on-1 shot by Baertschi with 5:30 left in the third period.

Highlight of the game

With 1:10 left in the third period, Miller came charging out against Connor Brown alone in the slot and got his glove on the shot, but the puck got through into the crease behind him before defenseman Troy Stecher swept it away before it could cross the goal line.

They said it

"You'd love to get the other point, sure, but that was a good game for our team and I thought we really pushed hard as the game went on. You've got to give Miller a lot of credit, kind of held the fort." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"I knew I got a lot of it with my cuff. I had a sinking feeling when I saw two people rushing behind me. … You need everybody. I'm glad he was there." -- Canucks goalie Ryan Miller on defenseman Troy Stecher

Need to know

Van Riemsdyk's goal was his 100th with the Maple Leafs. He scored his first 47 with the Philadelphia Flyers. … Burrows made a nice backhand pass to set up Baertschi's goal for his 373rd career point, moving him into 14th place on the Canucks' all-time points list, passing Petri Skriko.

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What's next

Canucks:At the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+ 2, SNP, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs:Host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, FS-N, NHL.TV)