VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Elias Lindholm scored twice, Thatcher Demko made 27 saves and the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.

Nikita Zadorov scored his first goal with Vancouver, J.T. Miller added a goal and Elias Pettersson had three assists.

ā€œI think we were good. I think weā€™re were solid from the start,ā€ Zadorov said. ā€œAnother home win and weā€™re still trying to establish home ice here.ā€

The Canucks improved to 37-12-6, good for 80 points and a six-point lead over Florida, Boston and Dallas.

ā€œI thought we stayed pretty compact and kept them to the outside,ā€ Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. ā€œIt was a hard fought win ā€¦ this whole week has been a tough week for us.ā€

J.T. Compher scored for Detroit, and Alex Lyon stopped 17 shots.

ā€œI didnā€™t love my game tonight,ā€ Lyon said. ā€œIā€™ll say it flat out, but that being said, I gave up seven last game and so for me, it was just about re-engaging and then, obviously, you give up two in the first, quick, and it turns into a mental grind.ā€

The Red Wings fell to 27-20-6 with their second straight loss.

Miller opened the scoring on an unassisted goal, firing a wrist shot past Lyon at 7:37 of the first period. Lindholm got his first of the night at 9:31 when he wired a wrist shot off the post and in.

Zadorov made it a 3-0 at 7:09 of the second. After a wraparound attempt from Pettersson, Zadorov got the puck and fired a point shot.

Compher scored with 5:35 left in the second, and Lindholm added his second with 7:01 left in the third with a one-timer off a pass from Petterson.

UP NEXT

Red Wings: At Calgary on Saturday.

Canucks: Host Winnipeg on Saturday night.

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