Vanek, Gagner lead Canucks past Blackhawks
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Thomas Vanek scored two goals and added three assists and Sam Gagner also scored two goals and added an assist as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Thursday night.
Gagner extended his point streak to four games after producing points in only five of the previous 15 contests.
Meanwhile, Vanek and Gagner's linemate, Brock Boeser, added a goal and three assists to take the NHL rookie points lead (38) from Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders.
The Canucks (16-17-5) ended a four-game losing streak. The Blackhawks (17-14-5) took their third consecutive loss.
Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman, with only 8.6 seconds left in the game, scored for the Blackhawks.
Jacob Markstrom picked up the win in goal as he stopped 30 shots. Canucks coach Travis Green showed confidence in Markstrom by starting him after he allowed two bad goals in a 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Dec. 23.
Anton Forsberg, Chicago's de facto starter with Corey Crawford out because of an undisclosed injury, stopped 26 shots.
Gagner opened the scoring at 7:03 of the first period as he deflected in Nicolay Goldobin's wrist shot from near the blue line. The goal came three seconds after Chicago's Gustav Forsling came out of the penalty box.
The Blackhawks took sharp-angled shots on Markstrom after he allowed a goal on one by St. Louis winger Kyle Brodziak in the previous game. Schmaltz beat Markstrom on the short side as he one-timed Patrick Kane's pass during a power play, creating a 1-1 tie at 11:22 of the first. The goal came 20 seconds after Canucks captain Henrik Sedin was sent off for hooking.
Late in the first period, Forsberg made timely stops on deflections by Vanek during a power play, and Henrik Sedin.
Chicago temporarily lost defenseman Connor Murphy at 7:52 of the second period after he was hit from behind by Alex Biega, who received boarding penalty for the infraction and coincidental roughing minor with Chicago winger Lance Bouma, who sought retribution.
Murphy returned with just over seven minutes left in the second and was on the ice as Vanek put the Canucks ahead 2-1 at the 13-minute mark. Vanek one-timed Gagner's no-look backhand pass from behind the net. Facing the end boards, Gagner motioned as though he was going to return a pass to Boeser in the corner but instead sent the puck out front -- and Vanek made no mistake.
Just 1:27 into the third period, Vanek returned the favor as he set up Gagner for his second goal. Gagner fired in a slap shot after Vanek sent a cross-ice pass from the corner into the opposite faceoff circle.
Vanek produced his second goal of the game on a pass from Boeser before setting up the rookie on a cheeky back pass while rushing to the net.
Hartman closed out the scoring on a high shot that fooled Markstrom, who was rarely tested.
NOTES: F Gagner had an eight-point night against the Blackhawks in 2012 while playing for Edmonton. ... Chicago lost C Artem Anisimov to an undisclosed injury midway through the first period. ... Injured Canucks D Chris Tanev (groin) skated with the club but did not play. ... Blackhawks C David Kampf played his first NHL game after being called up from Rockford of the American Hockey League. Another call-up, goaltender Jeff Glass, 32, dressed as the backup. Glass, a former junior star, has yet to play an NHL game. ... After the game, Canucks Fs Jake Virtanen, Brendan Gaunce and Nic Dowd are now one game shy of 100 for their NHL careers. ... Injured Chicago D Cody Franson (upper body) took part in the morning skate but remained out of the lineup.