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 The right winger had the first three-goal game of his eight-year
NHL career to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 win over the
Chicago Blackhawks Sunday night.
"Confidence is a funny thing," said the 28-year-old from Herlev,
Denmark. "Once the puck goes in, you feel like every shot you take
might have a chance.
"Right now, I am trying to put pucks in the net. As long as they go
in I'm happy."
Hansen opened the scoring for the Canucks in the first period. He
put Vancouver ahead 2-1 in the third by deflecting a pass from right
winger Derek Dorsett over the glove of Blackhawks goaltender Corey
Crawford, then scored into an empty net in the game's final minute.
"It's not something that I longed after, that I have to get a hat
trick," said Hansen, who has eight goals on the season and has
scored in three consecutive games.
"It's extremely nice to get it. It's not one of those things I have
on my bucket list."
On a night when the Canucks honored left winger Daniel Sedin for
playing in his 1,000th NHL game, rookie center Bo Horvat showed he
might be the player of the future.
Horvat collected the first three assists of his career to go with
his first NHL goal he scored last week against Anaheim. The
19-year-old from London, Ont., who played on the fourth line with
Hansen and Dorsett, also won 13 faceoffs while losing just three.
"I just want to go play my game and see what happens," said Horvat.
"We're pretty confident as a line that we can go out there against
some tough guys and some tough players. I think we proved that
tonight."
Hansen has been impressed by the eight games Horvat has played.
"He's strong for a teenager," he said. "He's taking draws with the
best of them out there and winning them.
"It's a big trait for him and important for us that we can rely on
it in your own end."
Right winger Radim Vrbata scored the other Canucks goal.
Left winger Kris Versteeg scored on the power play for Chicago, who
saw a three-game win streak snapped.
The Blackhawks were playing the second of back-to-back games. The
teams played a fast-paced, wide-open style most of the night but
Chicago seemed to slow down in the third.
"Things unraveled pretty quickly," said right winger Patrick Kane.
"But back-to-back games, they were waiting for us.
"They were ready, a lot of motivation for this one. We were in the
game. We just didn't find a way to win it."
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Chicago was outshot 30-25. The game remained close because of some
big saves by Crawford. In the second period, with the Canucks on the
power play, center Henrik Sedin looked to have an open net but
Crawford managed to get a skate on the shot.
"We just didn't take control of the game," said Chicago center
Jonathan Toews.
"I think we let them move the puck side to side across the ice and
get their rush game going a little too easy. We weren't checking
well. Crow made some big saves but it could have been wide-open
early in the game. We didn't deserve to win that one."
The win improved Vancouver's record to 14-6-1 for 29 points and
moved the Canucks into a tie for second place in the Western
Conference with St. Louis.
The loss leaves Chicago at 12-8-1 for 25 points.
In a pregame ceremony, Daniel Sedin was presented with a silver
stick and puck by his teammates, plus a Tiffany crystal by the
league to commemorate his 1,000th game. Canucks president Trevor
Linden and Sedin's three children were on the ice for the
presentation.
"It meant a lot having Trevor out there," said Daniel Sedin. "He was
a big supporter of us."
NOTES: The Canucks played a video tribute prior to the match to
honor LW Daniel Sedin's 1,000th NHL game. ... C Henrik Sedin and
Vancouver president Trevor Linden are the only other Canucks to play
1,000 games. ... Vancouver D Dan Hamhuis (lower body) and RW Alex
Burrows (upper body) were out with injuries. ... The Canucks' last
win over the Blackhawks at Rogers Arena was a 3-1 victory on April
22, 2013. ... The Canucks host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday
night then start a seven-game road trip. ... Chicago's Bryan Bickell
played in his 300th NHL game. ... G Corey Crawford made his 11th
consecutive start for Chicago. ... The Blackhawks were coming off a
7-1 whipping of Edmonton on Saturday night. ... In their previous
three games, the Blackhawks outscored their opponents 17-6. ...
Chicago played the third match of a six-game road trip. The
Blackhawks play in Colorado on Wednesday, Anaheim on Friday and Los
Angeles on Saturday. ... Chicago's injured list included LW Patrick
Sharp (knee), C Andrew Shaw (upper body) and D Trevor Van Riemsdyk
(knee).
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