Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller scored short-handed goals 44 seconds apart to highlight a three-goal third period and lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
It was the 25th time in franchise history that Vancouver, which came into the contest ranked last in the NHL in penalty kill, scored two short-handed goals in a game. It came after Phillip Di Giuseppe went to the penalty box for a high-sticking penalty on Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly with 13:29 left in the final period and the score tied 1-1.
The first short-hander came after Tyler Myers intercepted a pass in the Toronto slot and fed Miller who passed across to Pettersson who put a wrist shot through goalie Matt Murray’s pads for his 29th goal and a 2-1 Vancouver lead.
Forty-four seconds later, Pettersson hit Miller with a stretch pass and Miller snapped a shot past Murray’s glove side to increase Vancouver’s lead to 3-1.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Nils Aman also scored and Pettersson and Miller each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver, which increased its home win streak to six in a row over Toronto. Brock Boeser added a pair of assists.
Thatcher Demko, making his third straight start after missing three months with a groin injury, finished with 36 saves for the Canucks, who have won 16 of the last 18 meetings with the Maple Leafs at Rogers Arena.
John Tavares scored for Toronto and Murray made 20 saves in his first start since suffering an ankle injury Jan. 17.
Kuzmenko gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at the 17:51 mark of the second with a power-play goal when his deflection of a Quinn Hughes point shot bounced over Murray’s glove for his 29th goal of the season.
Tavares tied it with a power-play tally at the 1:32 mark of the third with his 28th goal, a backdoor tap-in of a William Nylander crossing pass from the right circle.
After Pettersson and Miller made it 3-1, Aman finished the scoring at the 12:34 mark of the third with a backdoor tap-in of a Boeser crossing pass for his third goal of the season.
–Field Level Media
