Vancouver Canucks’ Cory Schneider makes 30 saves to shut out Anaheim Ducks
Cory Schneider made 30 saves in his fifth career shutout, Mason Raymond scored twice, and the Vancouver Canucks avenged last week’s blowout loss to Anaheim with three power-play goals in a 5-0 win over the Ducks on Friday night.
Daniel Sedin and Raymond scored on power plays in the first period, and Zack Kassian added a man-advantage goal in the third period as the Canucks quieted Anaheim’s standing-room-only crowd at the final home opener of the NHL’s lockout-shortened season.
Jonas Hiller stopped 29 shots, but Anaheim couldn’t get off to a 3-0-0 start for the second time in franchise history.Schneider bounced back splendidly from his season-opening pratfall as the Canucks’ new starting goalie last Saturday in Vancouver, where the Ducks chased him with five goals in 27 minutes.
Aaron Volpatti also scored and captain Henrik Sedin had two assists as Vancouver opened a three-game California road trip, its first of the season after a 1-1-1 start at home.
The Canucks’ two early power-play goals ruined a celebratory atmosphere at Honda Center for the Ducks, who started the season with a 7-3 win in Vancouver and another high-scoring victory in Calgary. Anaheim was 2-0-0 to start a season for just the second time in franchise history, but couldn’t match its franchise-best start in the 2006-07 season, when the Ducks went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The Ducks took themselves out of the game early with penalties, allowing seven power-play goals already this season.
With Daniel Winnik and Ryan Getzlaf in the box together for 89 seconds midway through the first period, Henrik Sedin found his brother with a cross-ice pass for Daniel’s second goal of the season. Late in the period, Vancouver’s power play capitalized again when Raymond swatted his own rebound out of the air past Hiller.
Vancouver also took 2-0 leads in its last two games, but coughed them up before splitting shootouts with Calgary and Edmonton.
After Alex Burrows was awarded a penalty shot in the second period when Luca Sbisa stopped his breakaway out of the penalty box, Hiller stopped him. But Volpatti pounced on a turnover in the slot and beat Hiller later in the period.
Kassian scored on a power play and Raymond scored a 4-on-4 goal in the third period, which also featured Corey Perry battering Keith Ballard in a fight in which the Vancouver defenseman didn’t throw a punch.
The Canucks played without center Manny Malhotra, who wasn’t with the team after his wife, Joann, gave birth to a baby boy Thursday.
