In Chicago, Elias Pettersson scored his 34th and 35th goals of the season in the third period on Sunday to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-1 lead over the Blackhawks.
That was enough to get the win as the Blackhawks clawed one back but Brock Boeser‘s empty-net goal with just over a minutes left in regulation restored the two-goal lead in a 4-2 win.
“I wasn’t happy with the first [period], and we came on at the end and obviously got a couple goals,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “You’ve got to respect every opponent you play. Listen, I’m happy we won. I just didn’t like our start.”
Chicago’s Lukas Reichel scored at 18″16 to trim the Vancouver lead to 3-2.
Collin Delia made 29 saves in the Vancouver win.
“Just try to get my leg up there and take away space,” Delia said. “He caught me going the other way, so I just had to plant hard and try and get back the other way.
“I think we just stuck with it regardless of the situation. We kept on going. I think that’s just a testament to our group. That’s the type of habits we’re trying to build; it’s incredible. Just the commitment we have to each other day in and day out, the little habits, the practice habits. We’re kind of reaping the rewards of that right now.”
The Canucks improved to 34-34-5 off their 10th win in the last 12 games.
The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a marker from Connor Murphy.
The Blackhawks dropped to 24-43-6 on their eighth loss in 10 games.
“It seems like, besides I think the two games that were on the road (a 5-0 loss at the Colorado Avalanche and a 6-1 loss at the Washington Capitals last week), we’ve been pretty competitive and most of the games have been close toward the end of the game,” Chicago defenseman Seth Jones said. “I think we’re starting to play a certain way, and understand a certain way we have to play every night to be successful.
“And we’re not going to go out and put a bunch of holes in the net, so we’ve got to play a tight, systematic game. And I think that’s what we’re doing. We’re taking care of the puck in the neutral zone pretty well. And we’re trying to go from there.”
Phillip Di Giuseppe tied the game, 1-1, with 17 seconds left in the middle frame.
Petr Mrazek made 27 saves in the Chicago loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.