Patrick Kane recorded a goal and two assists, Dylan Strome had three assists, and Corey Crawford made 36 saves to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
With the Blackhawks ahead 2-1 late in the third period, Kane blasted home his fifth goal with 5:06 remaining, drilling the power-play marker from above the left circle for a commanding 3-1 lead.
Chicago finished 2-for-6 on the man advantage.
Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Shaw, David Kampf and Brandon Saad notched goals for Chicago, which improved to 4-3-2 on home ice.
Defenseman Olli Maatta had two assists.
Vancouver entered the contest as the sixth-highest-scoring NHL team, averaging 3.47 goals per game, but managed just a power-play tally from J.T. Miller and a late goal by Jake Virtanen with an extra attacker on the ice.
Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, Alexander Edler and Adam Gaudette posted assists, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 32 of 35 shots.
The loss snapped the Canucks’ eight-game point streak (5-0-3).
DeBrincat scored in the first period when he took a dish from Strome, leaned around Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes and whipped in the game’s first goal at 6:41 — his fifth tally this season — while falling to the ice.
The Blackhawks capitalised on a late power play to double their lead as the period was reaching its end.
Strome won an offensive zone faceoff after Miller’s hooking penalty, and the home side quickly moved the puck around. Strome then set up a one-timer in tight for Shaw, who buried his third goal at 18:43 for a 2-0 lead.
Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev left the game after Shaw’s goal, did not return and was ruled out with an upper-body injury.
On a man advantage that carried over to start the second period, Vancouver finally scored when Pettersson worked the puck to Crawford’s left and flipped a pass over toward Miller on the far post.
The puck caromed off Miller and in for a power-play goal at 1:02 — his seventh tally this season.
In the third period after Kane scored, Kampf potted an empty-net goal, and Virtanen scored Vancouver’s final marker. Saad completed the scoring with another empty-net tally.
Pens score four
unanswered to snap Isles’ streak
Bryan Rust scored his second goal of the game with 1:35 left in overtime Thursday night to cap a furious comeback by the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, who scored four unanswered goals in the third period and overtime to snap the New York Islanders’ 10-game winning streak with a 4-3 win.
Rust stole the puck from Brock Nelson behind the net and tucked a wraparound shot past Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov to cap the comeback by the Penguins, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Jared McCann, Rust and Evgeni Malkin scored in the first nine minutes of the third period for the Penguins. Goalie Matt Murray overcame a slow start to make 20 saves.
Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders, whose winning streak was the second-longest in franchise history behind a 15-game run during the 1981-82 season. Varlamov made 35 saves.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane (centre) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at United Center in Chicago, United States, on Thursday. (USA TODAY Sports)
