Kevin Lankinen earned a shutout with 27 saves, and J.T. Miller, returning to the lineup, had two assists as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Thursday.
Carson Soucy, Danton Heinen, Brock Boeser, and Jake DeBrusk scored for Vancouver, who won for only the fifth time in 15 home games this season (5-6-4).
The win ended the Panthers’ seven-game point streak (6-0-1).
Lankinen earned his 14th win and third shutout of the season in 21 starts. With Thatcher Demko just returning from a knee injury, Lankinen has stepped up as Vancouver’s main goalie in the first part of the season.
Teddy Blueger, Quinn Hughes, and rookie Max Sasson each had two assists. This was Sasson’s first multi-point game in his nine career NHL games.
Miller had missed the Canucks’ previous 10 games due to personal reasons. Defenseman Derek Forbort also returned to Vancouver’s lineup after a 17-game absence due to a knee injury.
Despite having a 27-19 shots advantage, the Panthers were shut out for the first time this season. Florida is tied for fourth in the NHL with 106 goals. Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 15 of 19 shots.
Soucy scored his first goal of the season to give the Canucks an early lead at 2:23 of the first period. Vancouver then added a late goal, 79 seconds before the intermission, as Heinen finished a pass from Sasson in front of the net.
Boeser marked his 500th NHL game by scoring 4:53 into the second period. His initial shot missed the target, but the puck deflected off the boards and the back of the net. The puck then dropped to Boeser at the side of the net, and he scored the unusual rebound goal.
DeBrusk increased the lead with a tip-in goal during a Canucks power play at 12:55 of the third period. DeBrusk has been in great form, with 11 goals in his last 10 games, six of which came on the power play.
