RECAP: Gibson 'incredible' in Red Wings' 4-0 shutout victory over Canucks

VANCOUVER -- Earning his 25th career NHL shutout and first with the Winged Wheel on his chest, goaltender John Gibson turned aside all 39 shots he faced for the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Monday night.

“Anytime you can get a shutout, it’s nice,” said Gibson, who has triumphed in each of his last three starts. “It’s not just a solo effort. The guys did a good job in front of me -- forwards blocking shots, D clearing out the rebounds and bodies in front of the net -- so it was a team effort. We got some big goals there in the second to kind of keep the momentum on our side, and then just shut it down there in the third.”

With their second win in a row on the road, the Red Wings (16-11-3; 35 points) extended their point streak to five straight contests and moved into first place in the Atlantic Division. As for the Canucks (11-16-3; 25 points), their netminders Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo combined to make 16 saves.

“It took us a while to get our legs and get going, then [Gibson] saved our bacon in the first,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought in the second, we started to settle down a little bit and then made a few mistakes in the third. He was there for us, then the offense got him enough and we found a way to leave with points.”

At the end of the opening frame, although the Canucks led 11-6 in shots on net, the Red Wings were up 1-0 on the scoreboard. That’s because at 14:14, after some hard work down low by J.T. Compher to win the puck, the red-hot James van Riemsdyk tucked home his own rebound to push his goal-scoring streak to four straight contests.

Michael Rasmussen, who grew up cheering for the Canucks, picked up the secondary assist on what also was van Riemsdyk’s seventh goal of the season.

“A lot of poise with the puck,” McLellan said about van Riemsdyk. "Coaches and managers, even players, talk about individuals where the puck follows them around the rink, and that's JVR. He just knows where to go, and the puck seems to find him as much as he finds it. He's got a real sense of calm around the net with his hands and can outwait a lot of goaltenders. We’re happy to have him right now.”

The Red Wings kept the momentum on their side in the second period, building a 3-0 lead with two quick goals just 37 seconds apart in the frame’s 15th minute.

Andrew Copp scored Detroit’s second goal of the night -- also his second in as many games and third of the year -- at 15:15. The 31-year-old forward finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play that started with Alex DeBrincat’s feed from the high slot to Axel Sandin-Pellikka in the left face-off circle, who found Copp for a tap-in goal.

“Just trying to join the rush,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “Good of Cat to see me going down the dot lane there. I think Copp would probably kill me if I didn't pass it to him. He was wide open, so it wasn’t much thought behind that.”

Then at 15:52, Nate Danielson added another goal for the Red Wings when he redirected Sandin-Pellikka’s point shot behind Lankinen for his second of the season. Marco Kasper recorded his first assist of the season with the secondary helper.

Monday also marked Sandin-Pellikka's first career NHL multi-point contest.

“We’re happy we got the secondary scoring,” McLellan said. “We can’t keep relying on three or four guys. When they’re having dry nights, somebody else has to pick up the slack and tonight was the case.”

An empty-net goal scored by captain Dylan Larkin, who was assisted by Lucas Raymond, made it 4-0 at 15:29 of the third period. Through 30 games this season, Larkin and Raymond are tied for the team lead in points (30) while the former paces Detroit with 16 goals and the latter ranks first with 22 assists.

“We’re kind of getting into a rhythm here,” Gibson said. “Obviously, we’re only halfway through [this road trip] and have three big ones left, but just kind of build off this one and take it into the back-to-back coming up.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will open a back-to-back set on Wednesday night, beginning with a matchup against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on getting at least one point in each game of this road trip so far

“Everything’s been a little bit different. Special teams for us, the penalty kill was huge -- led by Gibby again tonight. Every night has been different.”

Sandin-Pellikka on Gibson’s night

“He's been good, but today was another level. Some, what do you call them, TV saves? Ones we're going to see on the highlights after the game, so yeah, he was incredible."

Gibson on his first shutout with the Red Wings

“It was cool. I mean, first one. I'm not much of a milestone guy, but I think when I'm all done and can look back on it, a cool keepsake and something I can look back on.”