Saturday November 19 - Chicago Blackhawks 4 - Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT)
The Vancouver Canucks suffered their first overtime loss of the season when the Western Conference leading Chicago Blackhawks overcame a 3-0 deficit to earn the win on Saturday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
The Canucks managed to get a rare first-period lead on a power-play goal from Loui Eriksson, his third of the season, then extended the margin in a span of 1:24 late in the second, on a shorthanded goal by Bo Horvat and the fourth in four games for Brandon Sutter, who is making the most of his time on the first line with the Sedins.
But despite outshooting the Blackhawks 19-11 in the first two periods and playing a tight trapping style, the Canucks were not able to hold off Chicago in the third.
The comeback began off the stick of Artemi Panarin, six seconds after the end of a Chicago power play in the third, after Daniel Sedin was sent off for hooking Patrick Kane. The Hawks used the man advantage to ramp up the pressure, and didn't let up when the manpower returned to 5-on-5.
Just 1:13 later, Vinnie Hinostroza was unimpeded as he barged into the dirty area for his first career NHL goal.
First career goal for Vinny Hinostroza (Notre Dame). 6th round pick in '12 https://t.co/gSAu87UY6z
It seemed virtually inevitable that Chicago would complete the comeback when Hinostroza also assisted on the game-tier, Ryan Hartman's fourth of the season with 4:14 left in the third.
The Hawks have been curtailed by salary-cap limitations ever since they won their Stanley Cup back in 2010, but the upside of their situation is that they have plenty of room for young talent to develop. That has been a big theme for the team this year, which has gotten a boost from a lineup that's going well beyond the usual suspects of Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith and Seabrook.
Vinnie Hinostroza became the 5th #Blackhawks skater to record his first career NHL marker this year (Forsling, Schmaltz, Hartman and Motte).
Chicago makes a good case that a team doesn't need to finish at the bottom of the league in order to re-stock its cupboards with impressive young talent. The rookies aren't playing huge minutes but as they showed last night, they can be difference-makers—and are gaining confidence from developing in a winning environment.
Hinostroza on 2nd INT: "Guys are saying, we’re coming back, there’s no way we’re losing this one. It’s definitely cool to hear that."
Canucks fans didn't get to see defenseman Gustav Forsling on Saturday—he was one of three scratches as Joel Quenneville inserted fresh bodies into his lineup in a successful effort to keep the energy up during games on back-to-back nights.
The Canucks were outshot 17-3 in the third period, so by the time the buzzer sounded to end regulation time, it was a relief that the team had managed to escape with at least one point.
They had their chances in overtime, too. It took two tries for the Hawks to earn the win, as the first play that ended with Jonathan Toews putting the puck past Jacob Markstrom was eventually ruled offside.
After several minutes of edge-of-your-seat back and forth action, that eventually set the stage for Marian Hossa to walk down Main Street for his 11th of the season with 56 seconds to play in the extra frame—assisted by Duncan Keith and, yep, Vinnie Hinostroza.
So—the Canucks finish their homestand with a record of 2-1-1 and collect five of a possible eight points—good enough to lodge them in 26th place for the moment, tied with Buffalo, Carolina and Colorado with 16 points. They've inched up to 28th in offense, now averaging 2.11 goals per game, and have climbed to 26th with the man advantage thanks to power-play goals in three of their last four games.
The players will have three days to live with the bad taste of Saturday's loss—they don't play again until Wednesday, in Arizona, but the team's situation looks much better than one week ago and everyone's job is, probably, safe for the time being. The team is off today, then will get back on the ice for practice at Rogers Arena on Monday.
On Saturday's Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Elliotte Friedman offered a bit more insight into this week's trade dance between the Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, involving Evander Kane.
On HNIC, Elliotte Friedman said #Canucks Assistant GM John Weisbrod was on Buffalo's Thursday night scouting list but did not attend.
Friedman said that Weisbrod's expected presence sent observers to "Defcom 1" but in the end, Vancouver simply isn't willing to meet the Sabres' asking price.
To wrap up today, please spare a positive thought for former Vancouver Giants captain Craig Cunningham. The 26-year-old Trail native collapsed during warmup for his game with the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday and his condition remains very serious.
My understanding this morning is Craig Cunningham is in critical condition after apparently suffering heart attack, has his Mom by his side.
Born in Trail, B.C. and drafted by Boston in the fourth round in 2010, 26-year-old Cunningham has played 63 NHL games with the Bruins and the Arizona Coyotes. He was part of the Giants team that won the Memorial Cup in 2007 and is getting plenty of well wishes from his former teammates.
Praying for one of my best friends Craig Cunningham. Keep fighting Craig.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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