Canucks’ persistence against Lightning rewarded with win
TAMPA, Fla. — Anders Nilsson had a busy and productive first start of the season for the Vancouver Canucks.
Nilsson stopped 16 of 17 shots in the first period and finished with 33 saves in the Canucks’ 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
“I had to get going right away,” Nilsson said. “I felt confident going in the game. I’ve been feeling good the last couple weeks, so I’ve been eager to get into a game eventually. I was excited to get the start and get to play.”
Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser scored 1:10 apart in the third period, and Markus Granlund and Jake Virtanen added empty-net goals for the Canucks.
Brayden Point scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 shots.
Vancouver’s rally was started when Pettersson — who has four goals and three assists in four games to start his NHL career — deflected Derrick Pouliot’s point shot past Vasilevskiy at 11:07 of the third period.
“I thought it was going to hit my stomach and I was going to shoot a rebound,” Pettersson said. “After it hit me, I lost the puck and next thing you know it’s a goal. Very lucky, but I’ll take it. Every goal is worth one goal, so it doesn’t matter how ugly or nice it is.”
Boeser gave the Canucks the lead with his first of the season at 12:17.
Tampa Bay, the highest-scoring team in the NHL last season, has two goals in two games to start the season and is now 0-for-8 on the power play, including 0-for-5 on Thursday.
“We need to finish,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’re not finishing. We are shooting some pucks at the net, but we’re not going there with a desire to score. That’s what you have to do in this league.”
NOTES: Tampa C Tyler Johnson returned to the lineup after missing the opener with an upper-body injury and logged 18:24 of ice time . . . . Vancouver F Antoine Roussel missed his fourth consecutive game with a concussion. Coach Travis Green said following Thursday’s morning skate that Roussel is getting close to return . . . . Vancouver scratched D Michael Del Zotto, D Alex Biega and LW Brandon Leipsic . . . . The Canucks had allowed 14 goals in the opening three games of the season . . . . Vancouver’s six-game road trip continues on Saturday against the Florida Panthers.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, RED WINGS 3
DETROIT — Auston Matthews scored twice for an NHL-leading nine goals — tying a league record after five games — and Toronto beat Detroit for its third straight victory.
Matthews joined Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Marleau, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy as the players in league history to score nine times in the first five games.
Morgan Rielly had a goal and an assist, giving him 11 points. Mitch Marner and Ron Hainsey also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 26 saves.