Casey DeSmith turned away 10 shots in relief and the Vancouver Canucks blanked the visiting Winnipeg Jets 5-0 on Saturday.
The Canucks (42-17-7) may have lost a key piece in the process, however, as all-star goalie Thatcher Demko left midway through the second period after stopping all 12 shots he faced.
Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Pius Suter all scored and registered an assist for Vancouver, while J.T. Miller and Phillip Di Giuseppe each added a goal.
Quinn Hughes contributed a pair of assists.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32-of-37 shots for Winnipeg (40-18-5), who were coming off a 3-0 win over the Kraken in Seattle on Friday.
The victory extended VancouverB次元官网网址檚 win streak to four games and kept the squad atop the Western Conference standings.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got good group in here. A lot of guys chipping in. ItB次元官网网址檚 a lot of fun right now.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址� Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks)
First star Elias Pettersson with following the win over Winnipeg!
Hoglander chipped a pass in from the boards and Suter, facing away from the net, swept it in to put Vancouver up 5-0 with less than five minutes to play.
Midway through the middle frame, the Canucks made an unexpected lineup move when DeSmith replaced Demko and the starting netminder went directly down the tunnel.
What led Demko to leave was not immediately clear but the Canucks announced at the beginning of the third that he would not return to the game.
Heading into SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 matchup, Demko sat tied with Alexandar Georgiev of the Colorado Avalanche with 33 wins on the season, the most in the NHL.
A stingy Canucks defence helped DeSmith out in net, but the backup was tested late in the game. He denied Kyle Connor from in tight, then turned away the Jets starB次元官网网址檚 second chance on the ensuing rebound.
Vancouver went up 4-0 early in the second period when Pettersson put away his 31st goal of the year on a power play.
Hughes unleashed a blast from the point, hitting Conor Garland in the slot. The puck fell to Pettersson, who backhanded a shot in around HellebuyckB次元官网网址檚 outstretched skate 4:04 into the second.
Vancouver was 1-for-2 with the man advantage Saturday, while Winnipeg went 0-for-1.
The Canucks took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission, thanks in part to Demko.
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The netminder denied Mason Appleton with his left pad and the rebound bounced to Teddy Blueger in the slot. The Vancouver centre took off down the ice, then dished the puck to Di Giuseppe who tapped a shot through HellebuyckB次元官网网址檚 pads with three minutes to go in the opening frame.
Hoglander gave the home side a two-goal lead 13:47 into the first, tossing a puck on net that bounced in off Hellebuyck. The goal was the Swedish forwardB次元官网网址檚 20th of the season.
VancouverB次元官网网址檚 offensive onslaught started just over two minutes into the game when Miller tucked a rebound behind the Winnipeg goaltender for his 32nd tally of the campaign.
UP NEXT
The Jets return to Winnipeg where theyB次元官网网址檒l face the Washington Capitals on Monday.
The Canucks continue a season-high nine-game homestand Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
