By Canadian Press

Brock Boeser scores 23rd goal as Vancouver Canucks top depleted Chicago Blackhawks 4-3

Dec 17, 2023 | 2:46 PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Brock Boeser, Ilya Mikheyev and Dakota Joshua scored in the second period, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the depleted Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Sunday.

Elias Pettersson also scored as Vancouver shook off a slow start in a quick turnaround after a 2-1 shootout loss at Minnesota on Saturday. J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers each had two assists, and Thatcher Demko made 25 saves.

The Canucks improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. They had just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes of the opening period, but they grabbed control in the second and held on down the stretch.

Nick Foligno had two goals for Chicago, and Connor Bedard had two assists. Cole Guttman scored in the third period, and Petr Mrazek made 23 saves.

The last-place Blackhawks lost their fourth straight game and dropped to 4-13-1 in their last 18.

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Foligno gave Chicago a 2-1 lead when he knocked home a rebound for a power-play goal 35 seconds into the second. It was Foligno’s sixth of the season.

Vancouver then went ahead to stay when Joshua and Boeser scored 41 seconds apart. Joshua redirected Conor Garland’s shot past Mrazek at 3:04, and Boeser converted a wrist shot from the left circle at 3:45.

It was Boeser’s 10th goal in his last 11 games and No. 23 on the season, moving him into a tie with Toronto star Auston Matthews for the NHL lead.

Mikheyev made it 4-2 when he got a piece of Myers’ blue-line slap shot with 4:19 left in the second. It was Mikheyev’s 10th on the season.

Chicago pulled within one on Guttman’s power-play goal 6:44 into the third period, but it couldn’t come up with the tying score.

The Blackhawks played without three of their top defensemen. Seth Jones was placed on injured reserve on Saturday with a left shoulder injury, and Alex Vlasic was sidelined by an upper-body injury. Kevin Korchinski is spending time with his family following the death of his father, Larry, at age 59.

The team flew to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Friday morning for the funeral. There is no timeline for the 19-year-old Korchinski to return to Chicago.

“It was a sad day for everybody involved, but I thought it was really great that the schedule permitted us to be there to support Kevin and his family,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It’s a tough time.”

UP NEXT

Canucks: At the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

Blackhawks: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Jay Cohen, The Associated Press