Canucks shut out Maple Leafs to end 4-game slide

TORONTO -- Kevin Lankinen made 20 saves for the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

The shutout was his fourth of the season and seventh in the NHL.

Vancouver, which lost 2-0 at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, had issues traveling to Toronto from snowy Raleigh, North Carolina, and arrived at about 2 p.m. local time on Saturday.

“I think it becomes a problem when you talk about it and we didn’t talk about it as a group, which is good,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “You are going to have these challenges and you need 20 guys going and we all worked in the right direction. [We showed] a lot of heart. Last couple of years, this is a resilient group. Takes a lot of punches and gets back up, so this is one of those times where we got back up.”

Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Myers had two assists for the Canucks (19-13-10), who had lost four in a row (0-2-2).

Dennis Hildeby made 15 saves for the Maple Leafs (27-15-2), who have lost two in a row and were shut out for the third time this season.

“I didn’t think we played with enough pace in the game,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “We didn’t obviously generate enough. We obviously have to generate more than we did, power plays included.”

Toronto managed a combined two shots on its three power plays.

“We didn’t get anything going on our power play which could have given us momentum in the game,” Berube said. “We didn’t move the puck well enough tonight, I didn’t think we were connected well enough on breakouts or in the neutral zone, and it was just slow.”

Brock Boeser ended a five-game goal drought when he gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the first period. Myers’ point shot deflected off of him in the slot.

“It was a whirlwind 24 hours here,” Myers said. “Guys stepped up tonight. It was a huge win for the group coming in on a back-to-back with a crazy travel day. It seemed like a lot of guys were going tonight and played the right way. Played real simple and I think it provided more opportunities for us. I think we have to realize that going forward and try to bring that more consistently.”

Lankinen kept it 1-0 at 10:47 when he stopped John Tavares on a breakaway with a glove save.

“I thought we had chances, just couldn’t capitalize and I thought we couldn’t really get momentum on our side,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said. “A lot of one-and-done. It just felt like a little bit disconnected through the most part of the game, I would say.”

Hughes made it 2-0 at 18:12 of the second period. His point shot was inadvertently swatted into the net out of the air by Toronto defenseman Simon Benoit, who reached his stick into the crease.

“[There is] a lot of character in here and nobody was feeling sorry for themselves,” Hughes said, “not because of what happened (with travel) last night, but how the last couple games have gone. We desperately needed a win and we got one. This was nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone played junior hockey and grew up with different things going on. The weather is nothing you can control. I’ve seen crazier in the NHL.”

Kiefer Sherwood pushed the lead to 3-0 at 47 seconds of the third period, taking a no-look drop pass from Hughes in the right face-off circle and shooting high to the glove side.

“Not good enough. [They] outworked us, outcompeted us and that’s why they won,” Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev said. “We’re not worried about them, we need to play our game better. That’s why we lost.”

NOTES: Matthews was held without a point, ending his four-game point streak (three goals, five assists) since returning from a six-game absence because of an upper body injury. … The Canucks are 1-1-2 on a five-game road trip that ends at the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.