Canucks 2, Hurricanes 0
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Eddie Lack stopped 31 shots for the first shutout of his NHL career, and the Vancouver Canucks blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 Monday night.
The Canucks (18-10-5) posted their fifth consecutive win and gained a share of fifth place in the Western Conference. The Hurricanes (13-13-5) suffered their first loss in four games.
The Hurricanes outshot the Canucks 31-26, including 13-7 in the third period. Carolina last won in Vancouver on Oct. 15, 1999, a span of six games.
Defenseman Chris Tanev and right winger Jannik Hansen, into an empty net in the game's final minute, scored for Vancouver.
Lack, a 25-year-old Swede, is in his first season with the Canucks after three seasons in their farm system. He missed most of last season with Vancouver's former AHL affiliate in Chicago after undergoing hip surgery.
Known as the Stork because of his large and lanky frame, he drew his inaugural home start Monday after posting a win over the Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., earlier this month. He spelled a resting Roberto Luongo, who earned a win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.
In the other net, Carolina goaltender Justin Peters faced the Canucks for the first time since turning pro in 2009-10. He finished with 24 saves.
Tanev put the Canucks on the scoreboard first as he put home a seemingly harmless wrist shot from the blue line just 3:35 into the game.
Peters prevented the Canucks from taking a much bigger lead during one sequence later in the period. He stopped center Ryan Kesler, then defenseman Dan Hamhuis on back-to-back shots while Vancouver was shorthanded and, finally, Henrik Sedin after the Canucks center came out of the penalty box.
The Carolina goalie caught a break a little while later while his club was short-handed, as Brad Richardson's shot hit him and the post but stayed out.
When Carolina started pressing near the end of the first, Lack took over center stage, picking off a slap shot from defenseman Andrej Sekera with his catching glove and thwarting the Hurricanes on a few other occasions.
Both goaltenders were steady but rarely tested in a scoreless second period.
The Hurricanes came out firing in the third period and rarely let up, keeping the puck in the Vancouver zone for most of the period. To alleviate the pressure, Canucks coach John Tortorella called a timeout with 5:06 remaining in regulation.
The 'Canes could not beat Lack as he enjoyed a memorable night with fans chanting "Eddie! Eddie!" before the final horn sounded.
NOTES: Hurricanes C Manny Malhotra played in Vancouver for the first time since Canucks general manager Mike Gillis shut down his season after nine games in the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign. Gillis cited a career-threatening eye injury that Malhotra suffered in March 2011. ... Hurricanes backup G Anton Khudobin missed his 25th consecutive game with an ankle injury, while LW Drayson Bowman missed his second game with a lower-body injury and D Brett Bellemore (upper body) sat out his third straight contest. ... It was the second and final meeting of the season between the Canucks and 'Canes. The teams met more than once in a season for the first time since 2001-02. ... The Canucks scratched D Yannick Weber, a day after recalling him from AHL Utica, as well as LW Tom Sestito. ... Vancouver D Alex Edler missed his third consecutive game with a reported lower-body injury.
