Canucks grab series lead vs. Wild
Brock Boeser and Elias Petterson each had a power-play goal and an assist, Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for his first postseason shutout, and the Canucks beat the Wild 3-0 in Edmonton, Alberta to take a 2-1 lead Thursday in their best-of-five 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, extratesty matchup and moved within one game of advancing to the first round in their first appearance in the playoffs since 2015.
“Our players need to gain experience in these type of games, but we’re not just here to get experience,” Canucks coach Travis Green said.
“We want to win the games.” 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 the Canucks 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.”
Flyers still hot: Scott Laughton had two goals and an assist to help the Flyers beat the Capitals 3-1 in Toronto. Travis Sanheim also scored and Brian Elliott stopped 16 shots to keep the Flyers rolling as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. 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 the Bruins and the Caps in the playoff seeding round and can’t finish any worse than second in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers play the Lightning on Saturday. The winner will earn the top seed in the East.
Ducks lock down Larsson: The Ducks announced that they resigned free agent defenseman Jacob Larsson to a two-year, $2.4 million deal. Larsson will make $1.1 million next season and $1.3 million in the 2021-22 campaign. The 23-year-old Swede has two goals and 14 assists in 113 games over the last three seasons with the Ducks, who drafted him in the first round in 2015. He set career highs with two goals and 11 assists in 60 games last season. With Larsson’s deal, the Ducks have re-signed all of their restricted free agents for next season. Their remaining unrestricted free agents include veteran goalie Ryan Miller, who’s likely to be welcomed back if he decides to continue his NHL career, and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Matt Irwin.