Nilsson, Canucks blank Senators
OTTAWA -- Anders Nilsson made 32 saves in his first game for the Vancouver Canucks, a 3-0 shutout of the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Brock Boeser and Alexander Burmistrov each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks (2-2-1). Thomas Vanek rounded out the scoring with a breakaway goal at the 15:12 mark of the third.
Craig Anderson stopped 21 shots for the Senators (3-1-2).
The game was the first of the regular season for the Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, who missed the previous five while recovering from offseason foot surgery.
The Senators lost defenseman Mark Borowiecki when he left the game with an upper-body injury following a fight with Vancouver's Derek Dorsett.
The Senators held a 17-4 edge in shots during the first period but trailed 1-0 at the intermission.
Vancouver stopped Ottawa's penalty-killing streak at 15 in a row when Boeser scored his second of the year with the home team serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice at the 15:29 mark.
Michael Del Zotto started the play with a shot from the point that stopped when it hit a crowd in front. Burmistrov pushed the puck back into the slot for Boeser, who fired it past Anderson.
The Senators challenged that there was goalie interference by Burmistrov, but to no avail.
Moments after it was ruled Brandon Sutter's stick was too high when he deflected a shot into the Senators net, Burmistrov delivered the perfect tip of a Boeser shot to put the Canucks ahead 2-0. Sven Baertschi also earned an assist on the goal at 16:29 of the second period.
The Canucks outshot the Senators 12-7 in a middle frame.
The game was the first of a five-stop road trip for the Canucks, who will be in Boston to play the Bruins on Thursday. It was also the first of a five-game homestand for the Senators, who entertain the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
NOTES: Canucks coach Travis Green said that F Loui Eriksson will miss four to six weeks with a knee sprain. ... Canucks F Jake Virtanen took Eriksson's place in the lineup. ... Canucks F Derek Dorsett played his 500th NHL game ... Even with Senators D Erik Karlsson returning to the lineup, coach Guy Boucher stuck with a seven-defense, 11-forward format. ... Senators C Logan Brown was a healthy scratch for the fifth time.