Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleThe Vancouver Canucks fell 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, extending a rough stretch that has produced one win in their last 13 games, according to a Canadian Press report published by Global News Toronto.
Auston Matthews scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season as Toronto snapped a two-game skid. The Leafs (8-6-2) finished a four-game road trip with two wins and two losses. The Canucks fell to 3-12-1.
How the game unfolded
William Nylander gave Toronto the lead just 83 seconds in. He picked up a puck that bounced off Canucks defenceman Jamie Oleksiak’s stick, skated in alone and lifted a backhand past goaltender Leevi Merilainen.
Vancouver tied it about nine minutes later on the power play. Brock Boeser got behind the Toronto defence, took a long pass from defenceman Filip Hronek and beat Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz.
Matthews made it 2-1 at 3:47 of the second period. He beat Merilainen on the short side after a back-and-forth pass with defenceman Darren Raddysh. Zack MacEwen then put Toronto up by two at 12:34, when his shot from just inside the blue line hit Merilainen’s glove, bounced off defenceman Luke Schenn’s back and rolled into the net.
Max Sasson pulled the Canucks within a goal early in the third, scoring off the rebound of a Brendan Gallagher shot. Teddy Blueger sealed it with an empty-net goal. Nylander and Blueger each finished with a goal and an assist.
Stolarz stopped 26 shots and earned an assist on Blueger’s empty-netter. Merilainen made 24 saves for Vancouver.
Notes from both lineups
- Merilainen stopped Canucks rookie Gavin McKenna on a first-period power play, getting a pad on his shot after a cross-ice pass.
- Centre Jacob Quillan, acquired from Toronto on Oct. 15, entered the Vancouver lineup after being recalled from Abbotsford of the AHL on Friday. He replaced Filip Chytil, who was placed on injured reserve after reaggravating a shoulder injury in a 3-2 loss at San Jose on Thursday.
- Elias Pettersson’s six-game point streak ended. He had two goals and five assists during it.
- Former Canuck Chris Tanev returned to the Leafs lineup after missing nine games with an upper-body injury suffered Oct. 10 at Colorado.
- Dakota Joshua played his first game of the season after a core injury late last year.
- Blueger, who spent three seasons with the Canucks, played his first game in Vancouver since signing a two-year contract with Toronto.
Streaks and what’s next
Matthews has points in six of his last seven games, with five goals and five assists. Toronto has only 28 wins in 86 games in Vancouver.
Both teams are at home on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs host the Utah Mammoth, and the Canucks host the Anaheim Ducks.
Source: Global News Toronto
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
