Minus Pettersson, Canucks’ offence quiet once again in loss to Maple Leafs

TORONTO — Defensive lapses proved costly for the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night as they closed out a six-game road trip by dropping a 5-0 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

Goals have dried up of late for the visitors, who have been shut out in three of their last four games. The absence of star rookie Elias Pettersson — expected to miss at least a week with a right knee injury — didn’t help.

“I thought like we looked like a tired group tonight,” said Canucks head coach Travis Green.

The Leafs took advantage of miscues on both of their first-period goals.

Vancouver blueliner Erik Gudbranson didn’t tie up John Tavares on Toronto’s opener midway through the first period, allowing the star forward to deflect a point shot past netminder Jacob Markstrom.

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Moments later, it was defenceman Derrick Pouliot who got burned.

He tried to stand up Trevor Moore near the Vancouver blueline and was left completely flat-footed as the Toronto forward flew by him before scoring his first career NHL goal.

“He knows it’s not a great play,” Green said of Pouliot. “I thought we made four mistakes on the first four goals … this team can make you pay.”

Green stuck with Pouliot — a healthy scratch last game — and he made a quality defensive play early in the second, cutting off a Kasperi Kapanen pass attempt on a 2-on-1 break.

The Canucks picked up the pace after a sluggish first period but were clearly outmatched in the third. Vancouver had 28 shots, was 0 for 3 on the power play and managed only a few decent scoring chances.

“There’s no magic formula of getting scoring in the NHL,” Green said. “You’ve got to give their team credit too. That’s a good hockey team. They defended well and they defend quick.

“If you don’t have your legs against them, they make it hard on you.”

Markstrom did well to keep his team in the game but he did not look good on a wraparound goal by Auston Matthews early in the third period.

Vancouver’s defencemen looked scattered later in the stanza as they had difficulty keeping up with the free-flowing Maple Leafs attack. 

Andreas Johnsson roofed a puck to make it 4-0. Gudbranson — an ugly minus-five on the night — had a puck go in off his skate less than three minutes later, with Igor Ozhiganov getting credit. 

“It just kind of got away from us,” said Canucks forward Bo Horvat. “They got the third one and then the last 10 minutes, we just weren’t in it. That took the wind out of our sails.

“But again, they’re a great hockey team. There’s a reason why they’re (near) the top of the league. That’s a good measuring stick of where we’ve got to be and how much better we’ve got to get.”

An 8-5-1 record in December helped move Vancouver back on the playoff bubble in the Western Conference. The team is 1-2-0 this month and has 44 points on the season.

The Canucks will have some time to recharge before their return to game action. Vancouver kicks off a six-game homestand Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes. 

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Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press