After a galvanizing win against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday where they came back in the third period and won in the shootout, the Vancouver Canucks were back at it on Saturday night to face the basement-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, were coming in on a three-game losing streak, their most recent being against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, looking to throw a wrench into the Canucks’ playoff plans. But the Blackhawks could not play the role of spoiler in this one as they fell 6-2 in a relatively low-shot affair at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks got goals from all through their lineup as six different players lit the lamp in the victory, and six had multipoint games as well. Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers notched goals in the first, Conor Garland in the second, and Elias Pettersson (his fourth in five games), Nils Aman, and Pius Suter capped off the festivities in the third. The Blackhawks answered with goals from defensemen Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser.
With the win, the Canucks got to 73 points, breaking their tie with the Calgary Flames for the final wild card spot. They also moved within six points of the Minnesota Wild for the first spot and seven of the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division. As for the Blackhawks, they lost their fourth straight and continue to fight for the best lottery odds in the 2025 Draft.
Game Recap
In a quick moving first period with very few whistles, the Canucks spent most of it in the Blackhawks zone, generating little to no shots. They only had four registered shots on goal, but ended up getting two by Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom towards the end of the period. After a great save on a 2-on-1 by Arturs Silovs, it was Hughes who finally got his team on the board at 17:46 as he darted down from the point and sniped his 15th by Soderblom’s glove. Then, 38 seconds later, Tyler Myers doubled the lead with his fifth, beating Soderblom in almost the same spot. Overall, the shots were only 5-4 in favour of the Blackhawks, but the Canucks had the 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
The second period was similar to the first, with shots at a premium. The Canucks, however, once again got one of them by Soderblom when Garland converted a backhand on a give-and-go with Suter, notching his 17th of the season. The 3-0 lead held for almost the entire period, but Vlasic broke Silovs’ shutout in the final two minutes, beating him through traffic for only his fourth of the campaign. The shots, as mentioned, were still low overall, with the Blackhawks leading 15-10.
The Canucks broke the game open in the final frame with three goals by Pettersson, Aman, and Suter to increase their lead to 6-2. Kaiser made it close after Pettersson bounced his 15th off the center bar, but goals eight seconds apart by Aman and Suter put the game away for the Canucks. The only bad thing that came out of the period was a hit from behind on Filip Chytil by Jason Dickinson that sent him to the dressing room. With Chytil’s history of concussions, the hope will be that he didn’t suffer one on that hit.
Goalie Matchup
- Soderblom stopped only nine of 15 shots in this game for a woeful .600 save percentage.
- Silovs got his second win of the season after 17 saves on 19 shots. His first victory also came against the Blackhawks back on Nov. 16, 2024.
What’s Next for the Canucks & Blackhawks?
The Canucks are back in action tomorrow against the Utah Hockey Club in the second of a three-game homestand while the Blackhawks get a couple of days off before they host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
