The Vancouver Canucks picked up a historic win on Saturday night, earning their first-ever shutout victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen was excellent again, leading the Canucks to a 3-0 win and recording his fourth shutout of the season. The Toronto Maple Leafs were not good on Saturday, getting booed off the ice by their hometown fans.
The wins were particularly impressive, given the Canucks had travel issues coming from Carolina to Toronto. Head Coach Rick Tocchet was proud of the team’s heart, saying, “This is a resilient group, takes a lot of punches and gets back up.”
Elias Pettersson, who has been the subject of trade rumors of late, posted an assist in the game. He said, “I liked our effort. Followed the game plan. Everybody was chipping in. Really good solid effort from all of us.”
Quinn Hughes was his typical elite self, posting a goal and an assist. As per Thomas Drance, Hughes told us that the players on the Canucks bench, taking notice of Elias Pettersson’s defensive form tonight, were yelling “Selke”. Pettersson made several plays to disrupt the Maple Leafs’ offensive attempts. Pettersson responded, “First time I heard it this year.”
Maple Leafs Were Not At Their Best in Shut Out Loss
On the heels of recent struggles for the Canucks, this was a game the Maple Leafs should have performed better in. Some fans have suggested the team laid an egg. The Canucks only put up 18 shots, but Toronto still couldn’t produce enough offense. Head coach Craig Berube didn’t think the Leafs played with enough pace or energy. “Maybe it’s travel or whatever, we need more life and energy, you know? I didn’t think we had that tonight.” The travel comment was ironic considering the Canucks delays.
Mitch Marner didn’t agree with the fans and their assessment of the team’s effort level. He said, “I liked it. I thought we played well, I really did. The last couple of games, we’ve been giving up plays to teams that aren’t missing on them.” Chris Tanev was more of the same opinion as the fans. He said, “Not good enough. They outworked us, outcompeted us. That’s why they won.”
