News

Canucks get home win over St. Louis

Vancouver Canucks' Jake Virtanen is seen during the third period of an NHL hockey game St. Louis Blues Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018, in St. Louis. The Canucks won 6-1. Photo: Associated Press/Jeff Roberson


VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jacob Markstrom turned in another solid start Thursday night, and then moved on.

“There’s another game in two days, that’s what I’m focusing about,” he said.

Markstrom made 29 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver (17-17-4), which has won three of four. Adam Gaudette, Josh Leivo and Loui Eriksson also scored.

“Any line can score out there,” Horvat said. “Every line played pretty well, especially after the first period. The first was a little shaky, but after that, everyone was doing the little things to win.”

Vladimir Tarasenko put up the lone goal for St. Louis (13-16-4). Jake Allen stopped 24 shots.

“We’ve got to start scoring, myself included,” forward Tyler Bozak said. “Every goalie in this league is a good goalie, we’ve got to find ways to get it by him. We can’t just always say their goalies had a good game tonight.”

The Blues had 15 shots in the first period, but Markstrom stepped up for the Canucks.

The crowd at Rogers Arena broke into cheers of “Marky! Marky!” after the goaltender stopped a hard shot by Bozak during a Blues power play 17 minutes into the game.

“It definitely wasn’t the prettiest first from us by any means. But Marky came up huge for us and made some unbelievable saves,” Horvat said.

“It’s great that we came back out and got ready to play in the second period there. And I think that’s when our game changed.”

Markstrom improved to 6-0 in six December starts. He has a .942 save percentage over that stretch.

“It’s nice to get a win but you know, we lost consecutive games before this. So we owe it to the team,” he said.

Vancouver jumped in front midway through the second after Blues forward David Perron was called for tripping.

Elias Pettersson sliced a beautiful pass to Horvat in front of the St. Louis net. He got a snap shot off for the power-play goal before Allen could get all the way across the crease.

Just 28 seconds later, some hard work by Gaudette paid off. The center crashed the net, collected his own rebound and poked it in.

“That’s just the type of game I play,” the 22-year-old Gaudette said. “I’m pretty big on second and third efforts. The puck squirted loose and I thought I could get a stick on it so I just kept hacking at it.”

St. Louis challenged the play for goaltender interference, but Gaudette’s second career goal remained in place after a video review.

The Blues knew the Canucks would be fired up coming into the second period, said St. Louis coach Craig Berube.

“We just kind of dug ourselves a hole,” he said.

“Couldn’t find the back of the net enough. Their goalie kept them in the first period, made some big saves for them, and it was a different game if we get a goal.”

Vancouver outshot St. Louis 14-3 in the second period and carried the momentum into the third.

Just over two minutes in, Leivo took a shot from behind the Blues’ goal-line. The puck hit Allen’s left shoulder and ricocheted into the net, putting the Canucks up 3-0.

Tarasenko answered for St. Louis, holding several Vancouver players off and shoveling a shot past Markstrom.

Virtanen added some insurance for the Canucks with 8:36 left, using a series of screens by his teammates to keep Allen from getting a full view of his heavy shot.

NOTES: Virtanen now has a career-high 11 goals this season. He also got an assist when Eriksson scored into an empty net after Allen was pulled with five minutes left.

UP NEXT

Blues: Visit Calgary on Saturday.

Canucks : Wrap up a five-game homestand when they host Winnipeg on Saturday night.

 

Recent Headlines

15 hours ago in Sports

Tarik Skubal’s 14 strikeouts propel Tigers past Guardians in Game 1 of AL Wild Card Series

Tarik Skubal tied Detroit's postseason record with 14 strikeouts and the Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 on Tuesday in Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series.

21 hours ago in Sports

MLB spending disparity on display in playoffs as $509 million Dodgers take on $121 million Reds

Baseball's economic disparity will be on display in the playoffs, where the Los Angeles Dodgers have committed more than $500 million in salaries and luxury tax this season as they take on a Cincinnati Reds team with a $121 million payroll.

21 hours ago in Sports

Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill carted off field and taken to hospital with dislocated left knee

Tyreek Hill's season for the Miami Dolphins potentially came to a sudden end on Monday night, when the standout wide receiver's left knee became badly twisted shortly after he made a catch near the sideline.

2 days ago in Sports

Twins fire manager Rocco Baldelli after 70-92 season, missing playoffs in 4 of last 5 years

The Minnesota Twins fired manager Rocco Baldelli on Monday, ending his seven-year tenure that included three AL Central titles but only one playoff appearance over his final five seasons.

2 days ago in Sports

Micah Parsons’ hyped return to Dallas ends with Cowboys and Packers in 40-40 tie

Micah Parsons and Dak Prescott both said winning was the only thing that mattered in the Green Bay pass rusher's hyped return to Dallas to face the Cowboys and their franchise quarterback.