Markstrom, Canucks blank Wild
Brock Boeser and Elias Petterson each had a powerplay goal and an assist, Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for his first postseason shutout, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Minnesota Wild 3-0 to take a 2-1 lead Thursday in their best-offive qualifier series.
Antoine Roussel and Elias Pettersson also scored and Quinn Hughes had three assists for the Canucks, who outlasted the Wild in another penalty-filled, extra-testy matchup and moved within one game of advancing to the first round in their first appearance in the playoffs since 2015.
The Canucks blocked 22 shots in the empty arena.
“Every time there was a blocked shot, everybody’s banging their sticks and yelling, and that gives energy and adrenaline,” Markstrom said. “It’s not only big hits and goals that guys are cheering for.”
The teams played 33:49 without scoring, until Boeser got Vancouver going late in the second period with a falling-down backhander off the ricochet from Pettersson’s shot.
“Just picking up trash,” Boeser said, laughing.
Boeser, a native of Minnesota who grew up about 20 miles from the Wild’s arena, has three points in three games. He scored on the sixth anniversary of his friend Ty Alyea’s death in a car accident, marking the moment by pointing upward after his goal.
“To be able to get one for him, it’s something special,” Boeser said. “Yeah, it’s an emotional day for sure, and I tried to make the most of it out on the ice.”
Boeser, part of the tantalizing young core that Vancouver have built around, had a sub-standard regular season, but the Canucks have raved about the way the 23-year-old’s game has evolved.
“You want to score at this time of the year, you can’t just wait for a shot,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “You’ve just got to get your nose dirty and find a way to score.”
Roussel made it 2-0 just 2:18 into the third by blowing by Wild defenseman Brad Hunt on a breakaway and flipping the puck over Wild goalie Alex Stalock’s left shoulder with a backhand shot. Stalock made 26 saves.
Pettersson added the insurance goal, his first career postseason score, with 1:22 left on the seventh power play of the game for the Canucks. The Wild went 0 for 7 and are 2 for 17 for the series.
Flyers 3, Capitals 1 — The Philadelphia Flyers played like a team making a run as the best in the East before the NHL shutdown.
With hockey back, the streaking Flyers just might get there. With one more win, they’ll earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference in coach Alain Vigneault’s first season.
“I like our work ethic, I like how we’re trying to play the smart way,” Vigneault said.
Philadelphia was smart and tough Thursday against Washington, and the line of Scott Laughton, Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny sparked the Flyers to a 3-1 win over the Capitals.
Laughton had two goals and an assist. Hayes had three assists, and Konecny had two assists.
“They’re certainly without a doubt our best line at the moment,” Vigneault said.
The Flyers have won 11 of their last 12 games dating to Feb. 18 — but it’s the two victories in the round-robin series that have the Flyers believing they can go far. The Flyers won nine straight games before losing the final one before the COVID-19 shutdown. The Flyers have resumed the season with wins over Boston and the Capitals in the NHL’s playoff seeding round and can’t finish any worse than second in the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers play Tampa
Bay on Saturday. The winner will earn the East’s top seed and “home ice” advantage.
Golden Knights 6, Blues 4 — Mark Stone scored the goahead goal on a deflection with under 7 minutes left, and the Vegas Golden Knights took a big step toward clinching the top seed in the Western Conference by beating the St. Louis Blues in round-robin play.
Vegas would be the West’s No. 1 seed with a win against Colorado on Saturday. The team that went to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final and was eliminated after a questionable call in Game 7 against San Jose looks capable of winning it all.
Despite leading the conference when the NHL season was shut down in March, defending champion St. Louis can finish no higher than third and needs to beat Dallas on Sunday to avoid the No. 4 seed.