Matthews leads Maple Leafs past struggling Canucks to end skid

VANCOUVER · Auston Matthews scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a two-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. William Nylander and Teddy Blueger each had a goal and an assist, while Zack MacEwen also scored for Toronto, which wrapped up a four-game road trip with two wins and two losses. Brock Boeser and Max Sasson replied for the Canucks, who have just one win in their last 13 games. Matthews gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead at 3:47 of the second period, beating Canucks goaltender Leevi Merilainen on the short side after a back-and-forth pass with defenceman Darren Raddysh. MacEwen extended the lead to 3-1 during a scramble at 12:34 of the middle frame, though replays suggested Morgan Rielly’s shot went off Merilainen’s glove, hit defenceman Luke Schenn and rolled in. “I thought the first period, we played great, and second period we defensively weren't as sharp as the first period,” said Boeser. “They have too many good players over there. You could see them get their chances, their looks, and they tilted the ice.”

The teams exchanged breakaway goals in the first period. Nylander opened the scoring just 83 seconds in, lifting a backhand past Merilainen after a puck bounced off Canucks defenceman Jamie Oleksiak’s stick. Boeser tied the game on a power play about nine minutes later, taking a long pass from Filip Hronek and beating Stolarz. Sasson made it a one-goal game early in the third, scoring off a Brendan Gallagher rebound, but Blueger sealed the win with an empty-net goal, assisted by Stolarz.

Stolarz stopped 26 shots for the win, while Merilainen made 24 saves for Vancouver. Jack Roslovic earned an assist on Matthews’s goal, extending his points streak to six games. For the Canucks, centre Elias Pettersson saw his six-game point streak end. Vancouver head coach Manny Malhotra saw some progress despite the loss. “Getting closer,” said Malhotra. “It's not close to where we need to be or need to get to, but there is progress. And it's frustrating as we talk about these games after loss after loss.”

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The Canucks inserted centre Jacob Quillan into the lineup after recalling him from the AHL on Friday. Quillan, acquired from Toronto on Oct. 15, logged 11:58 of ice time in his Vancouver debut. “It was good to get the first opportunity against them,” said Quillan. “Not really playing for revenge or anything. Just fresh start with this organization, and glad to be here as they wanted me here.” The Canucks’ penalty kill was a positive, going a perfect two-for-two and killing off 1:08 of five-on-three time.

For Toronto, former Canucks Chris Tanev and Dakota Joshua returned to the lineup. Joshua played his first game of the season after recovering from a core injury, while Tanev missed nine games with an upper-body injury. Blueger, who spent three seasons with Vancouver, played his first game in the city since signing with the Leafs. The Maple Leafs improved their record to 8-6-2, while the Canucks fell to 3-12-1. Up next: The Maple Leafs host the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. The Canucks host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.

With files from Sportsnet, The Globe and Mail and Yahoo Sports