VANCOUVER — Ryan Miller made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Vancouver Canucks blanked the New Jersey Devils 2-0 in NHL action Tuesday night.
Alex Burrows and Shawn Matthias scored as the Canucks (15-6-1) moved into second place in the Western Conference. Vancouver has earned three wins in its last four games.
New Jersey goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 34 shots for New Jersey (9-10-3), which suffered its fourth loss in five games.
Schneider remained winless in three tries against his former team. He was traded to the Devils in the summer of 2013.
Burrows scored the only goal Vancouver needed after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. The Canucks outshot the Devils 36-20.
Neither team could score in the first period and the Canucks led 1-0 following the second.
The game was eight and a half minutes old before the Devils recorded their first shot on goal. Meanwhile, the Canucks posted 10 en route to outshooting the visitors 17-5 in the opening period.
Burrows put the Canucks on the scoreboard 1:14 into the second period. Standing almost even with the goal-line, he deflected in Kevin Bieksa’s point shot. Burrows triggered the scoring play by applying pressure deep in the Devils zone and forcing a turnover.
In the third period, Burrows hit the post as he elected to shoot on a two-on-one. With just under seven minutes remaining in the final period, Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller foiled ex-Canuck Steve Bernier on a shot from the slot.
About two minutes later, Matthias gave the Canucks a 2-0 lead on a lucky break. Schneider stopped him on a breakaway, but the rebound went in off the skate of Devils defenceman Marek Zidlicky.
The Canucks now embark on a seven-game road trip, their longest of the season, which begins Saturday in Columbus. After concluding a four-game western road trip, the Devils will head home for Saturday’s contest against Detroit before going away for three more.
Notes– The Canucks honoured late player, coach and executive Pat Quinn in a pre-game ceremony. Vancouver players also sported "PQ" decals on their helmets and will display them for the rest of the season. … New Jersey defencemen Bryce Salvador (lower-body) and John Merrill (arm), and winger Ryan Clowe (head) remained out with injuries. … Rookie centre Bo Horvat will remain a Canuck, and have the first year of his contract activated, rather than return to London of the OHL. General manager Jim Benning will decide later whether to loan him to Team Canada for the world junior championships. … New Jersey centre Jacob Josefson took a rare face-off violation penalty in the second period. … The Canucks also honoured Abbotsford, B.C., golfer Nick Taylor, who attended the game, for his first PGA tournament victory.
