CHICAGO — Bo Horvat scored 16 seconds into overtime, and the Vancouver Canucks stopped Chicago’s five-game win streak with a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Monday night.
Alexander Edler and Markus Granlund also scored for Vancouver, which was coming off a 3-2 shootout victory in Dallas on Sunday. Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in his third career win.
The Canucks (31-32-10) pulled within six points of Arizona for the second wild card in the jumbled bottom of the Western Conference. They begin a seven-game homestand on Wednesday night against Ottawa.
Vancouver Canucks celebrate (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Jonathan Toews and Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago (32-30-10), and Corey Crawford made 31 stops.
The Blackhawks trailed 2-1 before Gustafsson’s long slap shot got by Demko with 3:13 left in regulation. It looked as if Gustafsson’s shot might have gone off Edler in front.
But Horvat stepped up for Vancouver, beating Crawford for his 25th of the season.
Chicago jumped in front with its first power-play goal since Feb. 27 against Anaheim, stopping a seven-game drought. Toews redirected Patrick Kane’s pass through the legs of Demko for his 31st goal with 35 seconds left in the first period.
It was Kane’s 59th assist and 100th point on the season. The All-Star winger became the third player in franchise history with multiple 100-point seasons, joining Denis Savard and Jeremy Roenick.
The Canucks responded with two in the second. Edler tied it at 1 when he drove a power-play slap shot by a screened Crawford 53 seconds into the period, and Granlund swept in a rebound at 6:22.
Elias Pettersson picked up an assist on Granlund’s 10th goal for his 61st point, snapping a tie with Pavel Bure and Ivan Hlinka for the franchise rookie record.
NOTES: Blackhawks F Drake Caggiula missed his eighth consecutive game after he sustained a concussion against Anaheim on Feb. 27. “He’s in the protocol,” coach Jeremy Colliton said, “and certainly we’re not in the area that we’re worried about him being done for the season.” … The Canucks improved to 10-9-1 in back-to-backs so far this season. … Former Chicago White Sox slugger Jim Thome was honoured after he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last summer. Thome got a big ovation when he went out to centre ice for a ceremonial puck drop. The Blackhawks also observed a moment of silence for Thome’s father, Chuck, who passed away last weekend.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Host the Senators on Wednesday night.
Blackhawks: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap
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Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
