Canucks Tie Game in Third Period, but Lose Late vs. Hawks

Stecher and Horvat scored 46 seconds apart to tie the game for the Canucks, but Chicago poured on pressure and scored late to deny them any points.

The Canucks came into this game with five road wins. They left with the same number.

Perhaps we can write this loss off as just running into a better team. However, if Vancouver wishes to make the playoffs they’ll need to start picking up points in road games, especially against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Otherwise, why bother playing road games at all?

To their credit, they did overcome some early struggles and make the game interesting. But it was all for naught, as the Chicago Blackhawks scored first and last to pull ahead at the end.

Final Score:

More from The Canuck Way

• Which team won the Bo Horvat trade?
• What to expect from newcomers Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty
• Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
• Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
• 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg

Recap:

During their years of rivalry, the Blackhawks have occasionally run the Canucks right out of the United Center.

They threatened to do it again early tonight, outshooting the visitors 18-9 in the first period. Two of those shots beat goaltender Ryan Miller.

First, Richard Panik unleashed a one-time off a pass from Brian Campbell. The shot went bar-down for Panik’s 11th goal. With the assist, Campbell achieved his 500th point in the NHL:

A short time later Patrick Kane put on stickhandling clinic, then picked the top corner against Miller:

The Hawks took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room. In the second period, Chicago was unable to continue their dominance on the shot clock, managing just four. Vancouver only hit the net eight times themselves, and neither team scored.

In the third period, the Canucks finally got themselves on the board with a power play goal:

Troy Stecher‘s second career goal beat Corey Crawford through a screen.

Then, just 46 seconds later, Bo Horvat tied the game up. Sven Baertschi, though not credited with an assist, got everything started on the rush. When he lost the puck, Horvat picked it up, got a backhand try and tucked in the rebound.

The game remained tied for most of the third. However, just when it looked like the ‘Nucks would escape with a point, the Blackhawks struck again A missed shot bounced off the end board straight to Jonathan Toews, who threw it home with Miller out of position:

Toews finished the game with four points. The last was an assist on Marian Hossa‘s empty-net goal.

Despite allowing three goals, Miller continued his solid play of late and finished the game with 31 saves.

Next: Horvat a Force Against Blackhawks

Still, the Vancouver Canucks fall to 5-14-3 on the road, and fail to pick up a point that would push them into a playoff spot. They’ll take another crack at that on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.