VANCOUVER — Jacob Markstrom posted his first shutout of the season on Monday, leading the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
The six-foot-six Swede stopped all 29 of Anaheim’s shots.
Bo Horvat scored a pair of goals for Vancouver (27-28-8), while Alex Biega and Nikolay Goldobin added the others.
Kevin Boyle made 25 saves for the Ducks (24-30-9).
The victory marked the Canucks’ first regulation win in 11 games and snapped a three-game losing skid.
The shutout was the third of Markstrom’s career. His last came against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 11, 2018.
“Big win. We were rewarded tonight after playing a full 60 minutes. It’s nice to get the shutout, but this was a team win. Nice to get this one at home before we hit the road.” - @j_markstrom
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 26, 2019
One of the goalie’s biggest saves of the night came with just nine minutes to go in the game. Anaheim’s Derek Grant found the puck down low and Markstrom dove out to make the stop.
Horvat’s second goal of the night came midway through the third period after he dove to keep the puck in Anaheim’s end.
Josh Leivo got it back to him in the faceoff circle and Horvat sent a rocket soaring past Boyle to put the Canucks up 4-0.
The 23-year-old centre now has a career-high 23 goals this season.
Goldobin opened the scoring 8:04 into the first period on Monday after star rookie Elias Pettersson sliced a cross-ice pass to him in the neutral zone.
The right-winger ripped a shot over Boyle’s shoulder for his eighth goal of the season and his first in nine games.
Biega added another goal before the end of the first frame with a long shot that somehow wound its way through traffic and slid in under Boyle’s pad.
Early in the second period, Anaheim’s Brendan Guhle was sent to the box for levelling Tyler Motte along the boards and the Canucks capitalized on the opportunity.
Brock Boeser made a nifty pass to Horvat below the goal line and the centre poked it in to put Vancouver up 3-0.
The Canucks are now off on a three-game road trip, starting with a visit to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
The Ducks host the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night.
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Earlier Monday, the Canucks traded defenceman Erik Gudbranson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for winger Tanner Pearson.
Gudbranson has two goals and six assists in 57 games for Vancouver this season, but his plus-minus sits at a league-worst-27.
The 27-year-old Ottawa native was drafted third overall by the Florida Panthers in 2010 before being traded to the Canucks in 2016.
General Manager Jim Benning recaps the NHL Trade Deadline, where the #Canucks acquire Tanner Pearson and Linus Karlsson, presented by @ToyotaBC.
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 25, 2019
WATCH ➡️ https://t.co/tuPOn30tpf pic.twitter.com/alVovD3nNA
Pearson has nine goals and five assists in 44 games for Pittsburgh and could help a Vancouver team plagued by injuries to forwards in recent weeks.
Picked up by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2012 draft, the 26-year-old native of Kitchener, Ont., moved to the Penguins earlier this season.
The Canucks also swapped prospects with San Jose on Monday, sending Jonathan Dahlen to the Sharks for Linus Karlsson.
Vancouver acquired Dahlen from the Ottawa Senators for forward Alex Burrows in February 2017.
The 21-year-old has 14 goals and 15 assists for the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets this season.
Karlsson, 19, has four goals and 13 assists for Karlskrona HK in the Swedish league.
NOTES: Ryan Spooner scored his first point as a Canuck, assisting on Biega’s goal. Vancouver acquired the 27-year-old forward in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers earlier this month. … Langley native Angus Redmond was called up to the NHL for the first time on Monday. The 23-year-old goalie backed up Kevin Doyle for the Ducks. … Monday marked linesman Lonnie Cameron’s 1,500th game in the NHL. The Victoria native’s milestone was celebrated before puck drop.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
