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 Unfortunately, Chicago still has six more games to play on a
season-high eight-game homestand, the first two games of which the
Blackhawks have lost in either overtime or a shootout.
Wednesday, it was an overtime defeat, as Vancouver left winger
Daniel Sedin scored two goals, including the winner at 1:20 in the
extra period, as the Canucks eked out a 5-4 victory over the
struggling Blackhawks.
"I think it was more not defending, as the poor decisions we made
with the puck led to all of their action," Chicago coach Joel
Quenneville said. "Sometimes you have to keep it simple.
"We made some good plays in the offensive zone, but some of the
decisions we had with the puck were tough to watch."
Sedin scored the Canucks' last two goals of the game, but none was
more important than the winning wrist shot in front of Chicago
goalie Corey Crawford that stopped a Blackhawks rally from a 4-2
deficit early in the third period.
Sedin also made his shots count: He took just three in the game,
scoring on two, as Vancouver is now 2-0 vs. Chicago this season with
one more regular-season meeting remaining.
"I thought we played well," Sedin said. "(Chicago) came back in the
end, but I thought we stuck with the game plan for 60 minutes and it
paid off in the end.
"It's disappointing to give up the last two (goals that tied the
game), but it doesn't really matter now. We won the game."
The Canucks ended their brief two-game road trip (although they're
in the early stages of a stretch where they'll play 10 of 14 games
away from home), snapping a one-game losing streak. The Canucks
(30-20-3) have now won four of their last eight games.
"When they scored early in the second on a tough goal (the first
goal of the game), we came back and played well," Vancouver coach
Willie Desjardins said. "Then we were able to turn around after they
got a couple late. It was a good effort by our guys."
Despite the loss, Blackhawks right winger Marian Hossa continued to
have one of the hottest sticks in the league. For the second
straight game, Hossa scored a pair of goals -- making it five goals
in his last three games -- as Chicago, which has lost five of its
last eight, slipped to 33-18-4.
Vancouver backup goalie Eddie Lack (5-6-2) turned back 37 of 41
Blackhawks shots for the win. Crawford (21-12-3), meanwhile, stopped
31 of Vancouver's 35 shots in regulation.
"We weren't happy with our game tonight," Chicago defenseman Duncan
Keith said. "Probably, overall, the better team won tonight, if
you're looking at the whole 60 minutes, 65 minutes."
After a scoreless first period, Chicago scored 57 seconds into the
second period on right winger Patrick Kane's 27th goal, unassisted,
when he tapped the puck past Lack.
Normally Vancouver's backup goalie, Lack got the start because No. 1
netminder Ryan Miller had a horrible outing in his last game on
Monday at Minnesota, giving up five goals on just 18 shots.
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Vancouver tied the game less than four minutes later at 4:42 when
left winger Chris Higgins sent a perfect cross through the Chicago
goal mouth to a waiting Linden Vey. The right winger scored his
eighth goal of the season by slipping the puck past the
stretched-out Crawford. The Canucks made it 2-1 at 6:44 when
center Bo Horvat emerged from a multi-player scrum in front of the
net to one again capitalize on a close-in shot past Crawford.
Vancouver made it 3-1 at 11:19 when right winger Zack Kassian tipped
in defenseman Luca Sbisa's slap shot from just inside the blue line.
Chicago, which has struggled with its power play in the last several
games, struck at 12:48 of the third period when Hossa picked up a
rebound in front of the Canucks' net and slid it past Lack for his
15th goal of the season, but the Blackhawks still trailed 3-2.
Sedin scored at 15:23 to make it 4-2, but the Blackhawks wouldn't
give up.
Once again on the power play, Chicago left winger Brandon Saad
tipped in a shot from the blue line by defenseman Duncan Keith at
17:49 to bring the Blackhawks back to within one goal at 4-3.
With just under two minutes to play, the Blackhawks pulled Crawford
for the man- advantage and it paid off with 54 seconds left in
regulation.
Hossa came to the rescue, tying the score at 4, much to the joy of
the 21,346 in attendance, with his second goal of the night.
NOTES: Chicago scratched D Tim Erixon and LW Teuvo Teravainen.
Vancouver's scratches were C Nick Bonino and D Yannick Weber. Bonino
was still ailing from being hit by a shot from Wild D Ryan Suter on
Monday. Ronalds Kenins replaced Bonino, with Shawn Matthias shifted
back to center. ... Chicago LW Kris Versteeg was back in the lineup
after missing 17 games due to a broken left hand. He was hurt in the
Winter Classic game in Washington vs. the Capitals on Jan. 1. The
Blackhawks assigned C Joakim Nordstrom to Rockford (Ill.) of the AHL
to make room for Versteeg on the roster. ... Defenseman Adam
Clendening, who played four road games for Chicago before he was
traded to Vancouver two weeks ago, played for the first time against
his old team Wednesday.
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