Thatcher Demko made 28 saves as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 Sunday night, winning their fourth game in seven days under new coach Bruce Boudreau.
Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson scored for Vancouver, which fired coach Travis Green the previous Sunday after an 8-15-2 start. Boudreau, who previously served as the coach in Washington, Anaheim and Minnesota, has already helped guide the Canucks past expansion Seattle and out of the NHL’s Pacific Division cellar.
Martin Necas tallied for Carolina, which had its four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 3-1-0 on a five-game trip that wraps up Tuesday in Minnesota. Goalie Antti Raanta stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Boeser opened the scoring at 18:29 of the first period. Tanner Pearson dug the puck off the boards and got it to Boeser at the inside edge of the right faceoff circle. Boeser passed to J.T. Miller, who was along the goal line, and he immediately sent it back to Boeser, who ripped a shot past Raanta from the hashmarks.
The Canucks extended their lead to 2-0 at 7:44 of the second. A Carolina turnover in the neutral zone led to a four-on-two break and Conor Garland fed Pettersson in the high slot for a wrist shot that found the net. Tyler Myers also was credited with an assist on the play.
The Hurricanes finally got on the board at 2:32 of the third period on a two-on-one break. Seth Jarvis drove down the left wing and passed to Necas out front. He faked a forehand shot and went to his backhand, slipping the puck between Demko’s pads. Jesperi Kotkaniemi also got a helper on the goal.
Carolina pushed to get the equalizer in the final minutes, but couldn’t get another past Demko.
The Hurricanes played without leading scorer Sebastian Aho, who had two goals and an assist in a 3-1 victory Saturday night at Edmonton. The team said Aho was suffering from an illness.
–Field Level Media