Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) – Two nights after giving up five goals
against the Sharks, Ryan Miller bounced back with a solid performance in
between the pipes.
Miller made 31 saves and tied a career high with his sixth shutout of the
season in the Vancouver Canucks’ 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on
Saturday.
Alexandre Burrows tallied a goal and an assist and Zack Kassian, Daniel Sedin,
Bo Horvat and Shawn Matthias also scored for the Canucks, who bounced back
from a 5-1 loss to San Jose on Thursday.
Backup netminder Thomas Greiss got the start in place of Marc-Andre Fleury,
who was coming off back-to-back shutouts, and allowed all five goals on 27
shots in defeat.
Vancouver also shut out Pittsburgh 3-0 on Dec. 4.
The Canucks opened the scoring on the power play as Burrows deflected Radim
Vrbata’s blast from the left circle 7:13 into the game.
Just over three minutes later, Horvat increased the Canucks’ lead. The rookie
forced a turnover at the blue line and wristed a shot past Greiss after a
give-and-go with Derek Dorsett.
Less than five minutes into the second, Derrick Pouliot fired a shot from the
top of the slot that rang off the goal post, hit the back of Miller’s pad and
trickled just over the goal line as the net was knocked off its moorings.
After a lengthy video review, it was determined to not be a goal due to
inconclusive evidence.
Matthias raced up the right wing and beat Greiss stick side on a wrister from
the circle with 4:58 remaining in the middle stanza and after Greiss’ failed
clear, Linden Vey found Kassian, who shot the puck into an open net for a 4-0
game just two minutes later.
Burrows skated in on net, but sent a pass across the top of the goalmouth to
Sedin, who made it a 5-0 game with a quick wrister 2:05 into the third.
Game Notes
Miller posted his 35th career shutout and also had six with the Sabres during
the 2011-12 season … Vrbata extended his point streak to five games with two
assists … Canucks defenseman Frank Corrado missed a third straight game with
an undisclosed injury.
