Daniel Sedin's OT goal lifts Canucks past Chicago

[February 01, 2012]  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Daniel Sedin scored at 3:37 of overtime to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

Ryan Kesler and Cody Hodgson scored in regulation for Vancouver, and Cory Schneider stopped 37 shots to improve to 5-0 this season in games decided in overtime.

Jamal Mayers and Viktor Stalberg had the goals for Chicago, and Corey Crawford had 30 saves. The Blackhawks have lost three straight.

On the winning play, Daniel Sedin was right in front of Crawford to snap home brother Henrik Sedin's centering pass from behind the net and give the Canucks their third straight win.

Stalberg, who had chances earlier in the game, gave Chicago a 2-1 lead 1:17 into the third period when he banked a shot in off Canucks defender Alex Edler and behind Schneider.

Hodgson took advantage of a turnover by Stalberg less than three minutes later, tying the score with his 14th goal of the season -- and fourth in five games. Jannik Hansen found Hodgson alone at the Chicago blue line and the Canucks forward deked Crawford twice before shooting past his glove.

The Hawks got an offensive boost at the start of the game when captain Jonathan Towes (arm) and winger Patrick Sharp (hand) returned from injuries. However, Kesler opened the scoring by sending a shot off the shaft of defender Duncan Keith's stick for his 14th goal.

The score followed several Canucks chances when Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson struggled to get off the ice after blocking a shot. Hjalmarsson later returned.

Mayers, a fourth-line winger, tied it at 11:11 of the first for Chicago. It was his fourth goal of the season and first in 19 games as the Canucks were scrambling to clear the puck out of their zone.

Schneider had to be sharp late in the period when he came across his crease to stop Towes' deflection and Stalberg's attempt to bury the rebound.

Schneider made several key saves to preserve a 1-1 tie when Vancouver was outshot 18-6 in the middle period.

He denied Stalberg again when the Chicago forward broke in alone on a pass from Patrick Kane then robbed Andrew Shaw on the rebound.

Schneider brought the crowd to its feet with 4:23 remaining in the second period when he foiled Brendan Morrison after misplaying the puck behind his own net. The Canucks goalie was prone on the ice but somehow got an arm on Morrison's shot when the Blackhawks' newcomer fired at a nearly wide-open net.

Chicago almost won it in regulation when Kane's shot hit defender Sami Salo and bounced off the post at the end of a Blackhawks power play.

NOTES: Sharp was out eight games while Toews returned after missing one start. ... Morrison made his Chicago debut after being dealt Friday by the Calgary Flames. He was with the Canucks from 2000-08. The Blackhawks are his seventh NHL team. The Blackhawks have eight games remaining on their season-high road trip which ends Feb. 16 against the Rangers.

[Associated Press]

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