RECAP: Andersen earns 3rd career shutout, Ducks blank Canucks 4-0
Frederick Andersen had to make only 17 saves in his third career shutout as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 Tuesday night.
Matt Beleskey, Kyle Palmieri, Rickard Rakell and Patrick Maroon scored for Anaheim (32-10-6), which sits atop the NHL's overall standings. The Ducks have won six straight and eight of nine.
The Ducks are 3-0-1 against the Canucks this season and 9-0-1 over the last 10 versus their Pacific Division rivals.
All three of Andersen's shutouts have come this season.
Ryan Miller stopped 20 shots for Vancouver.
With his team up 2-0 after 40 minutes, Rakell put things out of reach at 9:20 of the third period, firing a shot from just inside the Vancouver blue line that deflected off the stick of Canucks defenseman Frank Corrado and in off the crossbar for his fourth of the season.
Maroon scored his fifth of the season into an empty net in the final minute.
GOAL GIF: @RickyRakell93 dings the iron on this quick wrister for the score. #LetsGoDucks pic.twitter.com/dVe81Qok4y
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) January 28, 2015
Held to 12 shots through two periods in the first game for both teams since the All-Star break, the Canucks didn't muster much more offense in the third on a night when Andersen's crease was rarely threatened.
Part of the problem was Vancouver's anemic and disjointed power play, which went 0 for 3 and is 2 for 28 over the last nine games.
Anaheim led 1-0 after the first and doubled that lead at 7:19 of the second on a delayed penalty with the Canucks already short-handed.
GOAL GIF: @kylepalmieri will not be denied! His quick wrister beats Miller five hole for the power-play goal. pic.twitter.com/UL9ZwsERaT
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) January 28, 2015
Palmieri came down the right side and fired home his 10th of the season through Miller's legs, a shot the Vancouver goalie probably should have stopped.
Canucks forward Derek Dorsett left the game a few minutes earlier with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Ryan Kesler and did not return. Replays appeared to show that Kesler, who was dealt from Vancouver to Anaheim in the offseason, made contact with Dorsett's head on the play.
The Canucks played at home for the first time since Jan. 10 after going 3-2 on their road trip prior to the All-Star break.
Nick Bonino had Vancouver's best chance early when he rang a shot off the post behind Andersen.
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Anaheim opened the scoring at 13:43 of the first period thanks to Beleskey's 18th of the season on a play Miller will also want back.
Beleskey unloaded a slap shot from the wing off a rush and Miller could only get a piece of it with his glove before the puck fluttered into the top corner.
Miller robbed Andrew Cogliano on Vancouver's first power play with a great glove save after a turnover in the Canucks end.
NOTES: The Canucks haven't scored at home since the first period of a 3-1 loss to Florida on Jan. 8, a span of more than eight periods. ... The Canucks were without defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who broke his left hand in the final game before the All-Star break. The 33-year-old Bieksa had surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. ... The Canucks and Ducks play the final game of their season series March 9 at Rogers Arena. ... Vancouver continues its six-game homestand Friday against Buffalo. ... Anaheim visits the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
