Rittich earns a shutout, Flames blank Canucks 3-0

CALGARY, Alberta -- Calgary's top line produced and goaltender David Rittich got to work on proving he's an NHL starter.

Rittich made 34 saves, including 18 in the third period, as Calgary beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 Saturday night.

Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary.

Johnny Gaudreau added an empty net goal and assisted on both of his linemates' goals for his second multi-point game to open this season.

"It starts in net. I thought Ritter was real solid," Flames head coach Bill Peters said. "Johnny had a good night too right? The Monahan line was real good.

"They're out there at the end of the game in that five versus six and they executed. They're growing up right in front of our eyes. They know what they have to do. They're a very good line and we have a lot of confidence in them."

Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 of 29 shots in the loss for Vancouver.

Calgary improved to 8-8-3 in home-openers since the turn of the century.

The Flames outshot the Canucks 14-5 in the second period and led 2-0 heading into the third.

Vancouver failed to convert a pair of third-period power plays. The first included 61 seconds of 5-on-3, but Rittich stopped three shots in that span and made 18 saves in the period.

Monahan collected his second goal in as many games, scoring from the slot at 1:10 of the second on a feed from Gaudreau behind the goal-line.

Lindholm opened the scoring at 13:50 of the first.

Myers misplayed a cross-ice pass in Calgary's zone onto the stick of Lindholm, who whipped the puck under Markstrom's arm.

"I thought we had some good looks," Canucks head coach Travis Green said. "Still got to get results."

Both teams opened their seasons with road losses Thursday.

Game notes
Canucks veteran forward Loui Eriksson was a healthy scratch to make way for 23-year-old Adam Gaudette. ... The Flames, celebrating their 40th season in Calgary, wore retro jerseys. ... The Canucks have several events planned to commemorate their 50th season, including February's retirement of the numbers worn by siblings Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

UP NEXT

Flames: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Canucks: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday in their home opener.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports