Canucks trip Islanders 5-2 for third-straight road win
By Allan Kreda, The Associated Press on January 9, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) – Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes scored first-period goals and Casey DeSmith made 17 saves as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 on Tuesday to complete a sweep of New York-area teams. Elias Pettersson, Tyler Myers and Dakota Joshua also scored for the first-place Canucks, who are on a season-long seven-game road trip. Conor Garland added two assists for Vancouver, winners of four of their last five. The Canucks are 11-2-2 since Dec. 5. The Islanders, returning home from a 1-2-1 trip to start 2024, didn’t muster much against the Canucks, who are having a renaissance season under coach Rick Tocchet after missing the playoffs the last three years. Brock Nelson scored both goals for New York – on the power play at 11:11 of the second after Vancouver had grabbed a 3-0 lead – and at 15:15 of the third. Nelson has a team-leading 19 goals this season. Hronek opened the scoring with his third goal of the season at 16:25 of the first. Hronek rifled a high shot past Ilya Sorokin after Islanders forward Casey Cizikas blocked a shot just inside the blue line and lay crumpled on the ice. Hughes made it 2-0 at 18:42 with his 11th goal of the season. The 24-year-old Hughes, who has 51 points overall, fired a shot from the high slot through traffic past Sorokin. Pettersson made it 3-0 at 10:20 of the second after Islanders defenceman Adam Pelech was stripped of the puck in front of Sorokin. Pettersson finished off a back-and-forth passing play with J.T. Miller for his 20th goal this season and his third goal in two nights. Miller leads Vancouver with 55 points, including 19 goals. Pettersson, who has 53 points, scored twice and had four points on Monday when the Canucks beat the Rangers 6-3 at Madison Square Garden. Vancouver also defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-4 on Saturday. Myers increased the lead to 4-1 at 17:24 of the second. Joshua scored a empty-net goal to complete the scoring at 18:32. UP NEXT Islanders: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Canucks: Visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. — AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl 17-16
