*Photo from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle*
The young kids are starting to play better, even though it's too late to salvage anything. Ethan Bear had two assists, Elias Pettersson scored two goals, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks with a 4-2 victory on Sunday night in Chicago.
The win gives Vancouver their 3rd in a row and 8 of 10. They are 34-34-5, so the playoffs are all but forgotten, but it's an encouraging sign nonetheless for the Canucks as they look to avoid a complete rebuild. Brock Boeser, Andrei Kuzmenko, Pettersson, and Bear had two point games for the Canucks.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said after the game that "I wasn't happy with the first, and we came on at the end and obviously got a couple goals. You've got to respect every opponent you play. Listen, I'm happy we won. I just didn't like our start."
Starting the scoring for Chicago was Connor Murphy, who got a shorthanded goal at the 16:01 mark of the first period, with Murphy scoring his 6th goal of the season. Phillip Di Giuseppe answered for the Canucks in the second period, tying the game 1-1 after 40 minutes on his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Quinn Hughes and JT Miller.
Pettersson then gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead, scoring 12:06 into the 3rd period on his 35th goal of the season. The lead then became 3-1 when Pettersson scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Kuzmenko and Boeser. Lukas Reichel scored for the Blackhawks to make it 3-2 before Boeser sealed the win with an empty net goal.
Getting the start in goal for the Canucks was Collin Delia, who got the win to improve to 9-4-2 in 15 starts this season. Delia had a strong game, stopping 29 of the 31 shots he saw from Chicago, which was good for a .935 save percentage.
Delia said of the win that "I think we just stuck with it regardless of the situation. We kept on going. I think that's just a testament to our group. That's the type of habits we're trying to build. It's incredible, just the commitment we have to each other day in and day out, the little habits, the practice habits. We're kind of reaping the rewards of that right now."
It was Petr Mrazek in net for the Blackhawks at home, with the veteran getting saddled with the loss. Mrazek turned aside 27 out of the 30 shots on goal from the Canucks, recording a .900 save percentage. Mrazek's record now stands at 8-20-3 this season.
Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones said that "It seems like, besides I think the two games that were on the road, we've been pretty competitive, and most of the games have been close toward the end of the game. I think we're starting to play a certain way and understand a certain way we have to play every night to be successful."
Up next, both teams get back in action with Tuesday night tilts. The Canucks travel to face the St. Louis Blues, with Thatcher Demko expected to start. The Blackhawks welcome the Dallas Stars to town, with Alex Stalock in line to get the start.
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