Lankinen stops 26 shots as Vancouver blanks Philadelphia 3-0

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves for his fourth career shutout and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Saturday night.

Nils Hoglander, Brock Boeser and Kyle Sherwood scored for the Canucks, who spoiled Philadelphia's home opener and the first NHL home game for top Flyers' prospects Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko.

The Canucks controlled play for most of the game and took advantage Philadelphia's defensive breakdowns for a pair of goals.

Samuel Ersson made 29 saves for Philadelphia, which lost its fourth consecutive game (0-3-1) after winning its season opener against the Canucks in Vancouver.

Canucks: Tyler Myers picked up an assist on a nifty, no-look pass to Boeser. It was Myers’ 1,000th NHL game. Myers also had three shots on goal, blocked a pair of shots, finished the game plus-1 and led the Canucks in total time on ice at 21:54.

Flyers: In another milestone game, Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier played in his 800th career game. However, the veteran center was demoted to the fourth line and on the left wing by coach John Tortorella before the game. Once the Flyers fell behind 3-0, Couturier was shifted back to center, but he couldn’t spark the team's offense.

Vancouver scored twice in 50 seconds in the second period to pull away. Sherwood’s goal was a one-timer off a faceoff win by Teddy Blueger to make it 3-0.

Minus 11, the Flyers' goal differential in five games this season at even strength. Through five games they have now been outscored 17-6 at five-on-five. All three of Vancouver's goals on Saturday were at even strength.

The Canucks are off until Tuesday night when they finish their four-game road trip in Chicago.

Philadelphia is also off until Tuesday night when it hosts Washington in the first of back-to-back games against the Capitals.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Philadelphia Flyers' Rasmus Ristolainen, left, plays the puck past Vancouver Canucks' Nils Hoglander (21) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Vancouver Canucks' Nils Hoglander, right, skates past Philadelphia Flyers' Egor Zamula during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Vancouver Canucks' Conor Garland, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Egor Zamula collide along the boards during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Philadelphia Flyers' Matvei Michkov, left, and Vancouver Canucks' Conor Garland (8) race for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Philadelphia Flyers' Matvei Michkov skates for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson, left, reacts after giving up a goal to Vancouver Canucks' Kiefer Sherwood, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser, center, celebrates his goal with J.T. Miller (9) and Tyler Myers (57) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen watches a loose puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Authorities said at least seven people were killed Saturday when part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia's Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island's tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.

Eight people were taken to hospitals, at least six of them with critical injuries, and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, the McIntosh County Fire Department, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others were searching the water, according to Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones. The agency operates the dock and ferry boats that transport people between the island and the mainland.

A gangway at the dock collapsed, sending people plunging into the water, Jones said. A team of engineers and construction specialists planned to be on site early Sunday to begin investigating why the walkway failed, he said.

“There was no collision" with a boat or anything else, Jones said. "The thing just collapsed. We don’t know why.”

Helicopters and boats with side-scanning sonar were used in the search, according to a Department of Natural Resources statement.

Among the dead was a chaplain for the state agency, Jones said.

There were at least 20 people on the gangway when it collapsed, he said. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he and his family were “heartbroken by today's tragedy on Sapelo Island.”

“As state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask that all Georgians join us in praying for those lost, for those still in harm’s way, and for their families,” Kemp said on the social platform X.

President Joe Biden said federal officials were ready to provide any assistance needed.

“What should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture and history instead turned into tragedy and devastation,” Biden said in a statement. “Jill and I mourn those who lost their lives, and we pray for the injured and anyone still missing. We are also grateful to the first responders at the scene.”

Sapelo Island is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Savannah, reachable from the mainland by boat.

The deadly collapse happened as island residents, family members and tourists gathered for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting the island’s tiny community of Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding.

Hogg Hummock's slave descendants are extremely close, having been “bonded by family, bonded by history and bonded by struggle,” said Roger Lotson, the only Black member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners. His district includes Sapelo Island.

“Everyone is family, and everyone knows each other,” Lotson said. “In any tragedy, especially like this, they are all one. They’re all united. They all feel the same pain and the same hurt.”

Small communities descended from enslaved island populations in the South — known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia — are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say their separation from the mainland caused residents to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and weaving baskets.

In 1996, Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the United States’ treasured historic sites.

But the community's population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders who built vacation homes.

Tax increases and zoning changes by the local government in McIntosh County have been met by protests and lawsuits by Hogg Hummock residents and landowners. They have been battling for the past year to undo zoning changes approved by county commissioners in September 2023 that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock.

Residents say they fear larger homes will lead to tax increases that could force them to sell land their families have held for generations.

FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)