Vancouver Canucks Sam Lafferty (18) skates with the puck in front of Ottawa Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) as Jake Sanderson (85) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Vancouver Canucks Sam Lafferty (18) skates with the puck in front of Ottawa Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) as Jake Sanderson (85) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Vancouver Canucks jump on Senators early, finish off 6-3 win

Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter each score twice for winners

Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter each scored twice as the Vancouver Canucks erupted for five first-period goals and coasted to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

J.T. Miller and Ian Cole also scored for Vancouver (24-10-3), while Noah Juulsen, Brock Boeser, Nikita Zadorov, Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty and Suter all recorded assists.

Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals for the Senators while Claude Giroux had a goal and assist.

The loss comes after the Senators (14-19-0) announced a new front office on Sunday. Ottawa appointed Steve Staios as the team’s general manager on Sunday, removing the interim tag from the title he held.

Dave Poulin, who played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs front office, was named the senior vice-president of hockey operations.

Thatcher Demko stopped 35 of 38 for the Canucks, while Anton Forsberg saved nine of 13. Joonas Korpisalo replaced Forsberg in the second period and stopped 11 of 13 shots.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Open seven-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

Senators: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

READ MORE: Czechia scores late 3-2 winner to eliminate Canada from world juniors

Nick Wells, The Canadian Press

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