The Chicago Blackhawks lost 4-2 to the Vancouver Canucks at home on Tuesday night for their seventh straight defeat.
Vancouver opened the scoring halfway through the first when Filip Hronek picked off an Alex Vlasic pass in the neutral zone and sprung Connor Garland and Dakota Joshua for a 2-on-1. Garland sold shot, got Seth Jones to bite, then executed a perfect give-and-go with Joshua that resulted in a wide open net and a tap-in goal for Garland.
Eight minutes into the second period, the Canucks had an extended cycle in the Hawks’ zone when the puck was fed to Hronek at the point for a slap shot. Hronek’s blast appeared to be headed well wide, but the puck glanced off Garland’s skate then trickled over the line.
Nine minutes later, Nick Foligno made a great jumping play to keep the puck in the Vancouver zone during a Blackhawks’ power play. Foligno skated the puck in deep, dropped it to Philip Kurashev, and Kurashev made a quick pass right to Tyler Johnson for a one-timer that beat Thatcher Demko to cut the Canucks’ lead in half.
With just over a minute remaining in the second, Colin Blackwell thought he beat Demko to tie the game (it caught the crossbar) and, on the ensuing Vancouver rush, Nils Hoglander found himself with inside position and all kinds of time to make multiple moves to beat Mrazek and restore the Canucks’ lead back to two.
Six minutes into the third, Teddy Blueger picked up the puck in the corner and fed a no-look pass across the ice to Joshua, who pulled it to his backhand and lifted it into the open goal for a 4-1 Vancouver lead.
Seven minutes later, Kevin Korchinski jumped into the rush and finished a 2-on-1 off a nice feed from Ryan Donato to make the score 4-2.
The Blackhawks pulled Mrazek with two minutes left, but couldn’t get it any closer.
Notes:
- Hey, remember last week after the game against Minnesota when I was incensed because the Hawks only managed one shot on goal in the first period while giving up an expected goals percentage of 93? Tonight they got their first shot with 27 seconds left in the first while giving up an expected goals percentage of 95. Time to start sniffing glue.
- Good news? That was Korchinski’s first goal since Nov. 24. Horrible news? Korchinski leads all Blackhawks’ defenceman in goals with three.
- On the subject of scoring goals, after tonight’s game, the Canucks have now scored 199 on the season while the Hawks have 110. So the Blackhawks only need like six additional Jason Dickinsons and they’ll be right back in it.
- With Garland’s two goals tonight the Canucks now have 11 players with 10 or more goals. With Tyler Johnson’s tenth goal tonight the Hawks now have four players with 10 goals or more. Vancouver is most certainly loaded at the top, but if I was the rest of the NHL I would be terrified of their depth.
- Speaking of, let’s take a live look at the Canucks’ third line:
- Joshua, Garland, and Blueger was Vancouver’s best line all night, and they were all over the ice and the stat sheet. I want us all to remember that this is what a third line should look like when your team is a legitimate contender. Every year it seems like there’s one line that steps up in the playoffs on the team that ends up winning the entire thing. The Canucks may still flame out spectacularly later this spring, but not if their third line has anything to say about it.
- Vancouver’s second goal — Hronek’s shot that ticked off Garland’s skate — feels like one of those bounces that the really good teams always tend to get.
- That’s was Mrazek’s fifth straight start, and 12th in the last 14 games. Either the fatigue is beginning to show or the losing is weighing him down. Either way, give the man a break.
- It’s Mrazek’s birthday tomorrow. And I know one thing he won’t be getting:
- Vancouver just keeps getting depth-ier! I love Kessel though, and the league is more fun when he’s in it.
- Not fun? The shift for the Reichel line at the end of the first where they were caught in their own zone for over two minutes. This was all I could think of the entire time the Canucks were cycling, and it also feels like the perfect analogy for the entire game:
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Dakota Joshua – 1 goal, 2 assists, Gordie Howe hat trick
- Connor Garland – 2 goals
- Filip Hronek – 2 assists
What’s Next
The Blackhawks will face off against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins at the United Center on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.