VANCOUVER — Jacob Markstrom posted his first shutout of the season on Monday, leading the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
The six-foot-six Swede stopped all 29 of Anaheim’s shots.
Bo Horvat scored a pair of goals for Vancouver (27-28-8), while Alex Biega and Nikolay Goldobin added the others.
Kevin Boyle made 25 saves for the Ducks (24-30-9).
The victory marked the Canucks’ first regulation win in 11 games and snapped a three-game losing skid.
The shutout was the third of Markstrom’s career. His last came against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 11, 2018.
Vancouver Canucks’ Tyler Motte and Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
One of the goalie’s biggest saves of the night came with just nine minutes to go in the game. Anaheim’s Derek Grant found the puck down low and Markstrom dove out to make the stop.
Horvat’s second goal of the night came midway through the third period after he dove to keep the puck in Anaheim’s end.
Josh Leivo got it back to him in the faceoff circle and Horvat sent a rocket soaring past Boyle to put the Canucks up 4-0.
The 23-year-old centre now has a career-high 23 goals this season.
Goldobin opened the scoring 8:04 into the first period on Monday after star rookie Elias Pettersson sliced a cross-ice pass to him in the neutral zone.
The right-winger ripped a shot over Boyle’s shoulder for his eighth goal of the season and his first in nine games.
Biega added another goal before the end of the first frame with a long shot that somehow wound its way through traffic and slid in under Boyle’s pad.
Early in the second period, Anaheim’s Brendan Guhle was sent to the box for levelling Tyler Motte along the boards and the Canucks capitalized on the opportunity.
Brock Boeser made a nifty pass to Horvat below the goal line and the centre poked it in to put Vancouver up 3-0.
The Canucks are now off on a three-game road trip, starting with a visit to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
The Ducks host the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night.
NOTES: Ryan Spooner scored his first point as a Canuck, assisting on Biega’s goal. Vancouver acquired the 27-year-old forward in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers earlier this month. … Langley, B.C., native Angus Redmond was called up to the NHL for the first time on Monday. The 23-year-old goalie backed up Kevin Doyle for the Ducks. … Monday marked linesman Lonnie Cameron’s 1,500th game in the NHL. The Victoria native’s milestone was celebrated before puck drop.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
