Bertuzzi’s Hat Trick & Knight’s 43 Saves Lead Blackhawks to 5-2 Win Over Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks welcomed Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks to Rogers Arena on Wednesday night for their second matchup of the season. The Canucks got some injury relief heading into the game as Conor Garland returned to the lineup. They were still without Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil, Derek Forbort, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and Nils Hoglander; however, Blueger and Lekkerimaki will be donning non-contact jerseys soon. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, were only without Jason Dickinson.

The Canucks were coming off a dramatic game against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday that saw Brock Boeser beat the clock and send his team back home with a 5-4 victory. The Blackhawks last played on Monday when they lost 3-1 to the Seattle Kraken. Kevin Lankinen got the start for the Canucks, while the Blackhawks countered with Spencer Knight.

The game was a goaltender’s duel for the first two periods until Tyler Bertuzzi opened the scoring in the third. He eventually notched another two to complete his fourth career hat trick, with Ilya Mikheyev and Bedard rounding out the 5-2 win, their first in 11 tries against the Canucks. The Blackhawks have their goaltender to thank for it, though, as he made 43 saves. He was on his way to a shutout, but Aatu Raty and Evander Kane finally solved him in the latter half of the third period. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

Despite a track meet in the first period that saw the Canucks outshoot the Blackhawks 16-11 and both teams combine for 24 scoring chances (nine high-danger), the game remained scoreless. It was a fast-paced, exciting 20 minutes of hockey, but the goaltenders stood tall, keeping it at 0-0 heading into the intermission.

The shots and chances continued in the second period, mostly by the Canucks, as they pumped 18 shots at Knight to the Blackhawks’ eight on Lankinen. Drew O’Connor thought he had opened the scoring early on, but it was called back due to goaltender interference. By the end of the middle frame, the Canucks were outshooting and outchancing the Blackhawks 35-19 and 31-15 (14-8 high-danger), respectively, but Knight and Lankinen remained perfect.

Surprisingly, the Blackhawks broke the game open in the third, despite being heavily outshot and outchanced. Bertuzzi got the party started at 3:06 and eventually added another two to complete the hat trick and push his team into a 4-0 lead at 11:37. The Canucks made it interesting with goals by Raty and Kane, but Bedard iced it in the final minute with an empty-netter to secure the 5-2 win.

What’s Next?

The Canucks will continue their brief four-game homestand against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, while the Blackhawks will travel to Calgary for a date with the Flames on Friday.