ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kevin Boyle made 35 saves in his first career start and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 1-0 Wednesday night in general manager Bob Murray’s first game as interim coach.
Jakob Silfverberg scored to help the Ducks end a seven-game losing streak, a skid which prompted Murray to fire coach Randy Carlyle on Sunday and take over for the rest of the season.
Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Canucks, who have lost four straight road games.
The 64-year-old Murray had never coached professionally at any level but got the response he had been looking for, with Silfverberg scoring 6:30 into the first period to give the Ducks their first lead since getting the opening goal in a 5-1 loss at St. Louis on Jan. 23.
Anaheim maintained a feisty edge throughout the increasingly chippy game, with veteran forwards Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf each getting into fights.
However, the Ducks could not address all of the issues that had caused them lose 19 of their previous 21 games and plummet into last place in the Western Conference. The Canucks had a 35-22 advantage in shots, forcing Boyle to make several difficult saves.
Boyle, a 26-year-old undrafted rookie, joined John Gibson as the second Ducks goalie to record a shutout in his first NHL start.
Vancouver rookie Elias Pettersson also hit the crossbar with a powerful slap shot during a power play in the first period.
NOTES: Ducks D Cam Fowler played in his 595th game for Anaheim, passing Ruslan Salei for most appearances by a defenceman in team history. … Gibson was placed on injured reserve because of back, neck and head injuries.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Visit Los Angeles on Thursday night.
Ducks: Host Boston on Friday night.
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Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press