Shutout loss to Kraken damages Canucks' playoff hopes

Andre Burakovsky collected a goal and an assist and goaltender Joey Daccord recorded his second shutout of the season as the visiting Seattle Kraken handed the Vancouver Canucks a crushing 5-0 defeat on Wednesday.

Michael Eyssimont, Chandler Stephenson, Shane Wright and Adam Larsson also scored for the Kraken (32-38-6, 70 points), who snapped a two game losing streak. Jared McCann collected three assists, Vince Dunn posted a pair of helpers and Daccord made 25 saves to post his fifth career shutout.

The Kraken, who won three of four meetings with the Canucks this season, have already been eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention. The Wednesday result puts Vancouver's hopes in jeopardy.

The Canucks (34-28-13, 81 points), who are winless in three games (0-2-1), sit eight points back of a playoff position with seven games remaining.

Goalie Thatcher Demko stopped 14 shots in a losing cause.

The Canucks started poorly when they failed to convert a pair of early power plays, and the night ended with a serenade of boos from the crowd.

Eyssimont opened the scoring by taking advantage of an egregious turnover by Vancouver's Jake DeBrusk in the neutral zone, zipping away for a breakaway and burying a shot at 16:42 of the first period.

Stephenson doubled the lead just before the midway point of the clash by finishing an odd-man rush with a top-corner shot from deep in the left circle.

Wright extended the lead to 3-0 at 16:00 of the second period with a similar shot as Stephenson's.

Burakovsky all but quashed Vancouver's comeback hopes at 8:55 of the third period when he finished a needle-threading pass from McCann with a sharp-angled effort that gives him nine points (three goals, six assists) in eight games.

Larsson added an empty-net goal at 16:24 to round out the scoring.

--Field Level Media