Canucks ride big 2nd period to top struggling Blackhawks

[December 18, 2023]  Second-period goals by Dakota Joshua, Brock Boeser and Ilya Mikheyev erased a deficit and sparked the visiting Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
 
Elias Pettersson also scored for Vancouver, which is on a 5-0-1 run, J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers collected two assists each and goaltender Thatcher Demko made 25 saves.  

Dec 17, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) makes a save on Chicago Blackhawks center Ryan Donato (8) during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Foligno scored twice and Cole Guttman added a goal for the Blackhawks, who are suffering through a four-game losing skid and have collected only two wins in 10 games. Rookie sensation Connor Bedard, who hails from Vancouver, collected two assists and goalie Petr Mrazek stopped 22 shots.

Upon trailing by a 2-1 score, the Canucks pulled away with a trio of tallies. Joshua made it 2-2 at 3:04 of the second period by deflecting a shot for his seventh goal of the season.

Then Boeser put Vancouver ahead 41 seconds later when he elected to shoot during an odd-man rush. Boeser's 23rd of the season puts him in a tie with Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs for most in the league.

Mikheyev made it a 4-2 clash at 15:41 of the period with a nifty deflection of a Myers point shot for his 10th of the season.

Guttman pulled the Blackhawks within one with a power-play goal of his own at 6:44 of the third period by snapping a shot from the right circle to finish a rush.

Despite a furious push to the final buzzer, the hosts could not find the tying goal in a game the Blackhawks twice blew leads.

The Blackhawks had the early jump and were rewarded when Foligno opened the scoring midway through the first period by redirecting a cross-ice pass.

Pettersson's power-play goal evened the count with 1:45 remaining in the opening period, a quick release from the right faceoff dot for his 12th of the campaign.

Foligno's second of the game and sixth of the season put the hosts ahead again 35 seconds into the second period, a rebound power-play tally.

- Field Level Media

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