Mika Zibanejad scored a first-period goal and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots for his first shutout of the season as the New York Rangers snapped a three-game losing skid with a 2-0 victory over the host Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
Quick continued his mastery of the Canucks, earning his sixth shutout to match his highest total against any club. He is 21-20-5 with a 2.05 goals-against average vs. Vancouver.
Sam Carrick added a empty-net goal and leading point-scorer Adam Fox had two assists for the Rangers, who improved to 1-1-0 on a four-game road trip. New York had lost six of its previous seven games (1-4-2).
Thatcher Demko stopped 23 of 24 shots for the Canucks, who wrapped up a 1-2-0 homestand and took their fourth loss in five games.
Zibanejad opened the scoring by finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with Will Cuylle at 17:28 of the first period.
Carrick deposited the insurance goal into an empty net with 93 seconds left in the third.
The Canucks’ best chance to score came six minutes into the third when Elias Pettersson slipped a backhand saucer pass through traffic to Jake DeBrusk, who was stopped in close by Quick. DeBrusk had another golden opportunity during a late scramble in the crease, but Quick got his left arm on the shot.
J.T. Miller failed to score in his first game back in Vancouver since being traded to New York in January. Miller, who spent the first 5 1/2 seasons of his NHL career with the Rangers, played 5 1/2 seasons with the Canucks.
The Canucks dealt Miller after he became entangled in a rift with his teammates, including the team’s other top center, Pettersson.
Miller was booed by the Vancouver fans when he first touched the puck on Tuesday, but he also received cheers when the Canucks played a short tribute video halfway through the first period.
The Canucks were without former Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes, who missed his second straight game due to a lower-body injury.
