Canucks score seven, defeat Blackhawks for sixth straight win

VANCOUVER --The Vancouver Canucks extended their season-long winning streak to six games with a 7-5 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena on Thursday.

Adam Gaudette took a pass from J.T. Miller and scored on a high wrist shot from the left hash marks with 4:11 left in the third period to give the Canucks a 6-5 lead.
"That was a little bit of a crazy game," Gaudette said.
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Canucks highlights]
Bo Horvat scored into an empty net with nine seconds remaining for the 7-5 final.
"It's always fun to play in those games, especially when you're on the winning side of it," Horvat said. "It felt like a playoff game out there."
Horvat had two goals and an assist, Miller had a goal and three assists, and Elias Pettersson and Tanner Pearson each had a goal and two assists for the Canucks (22-15-4). Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves.
"It was kind of an ugly game," Miller said. "It got into a bit of a track meet. Sometimes it happens against those guys. It was important we didn't quit in the second period when it got a little ugly. We got it together and found a way to get two points."
Patrick Kane had two goals, Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist, and Dominik Kubalik had three assists for the Blackhawks (18-18-6), who had won three straight. Robin Lehner made 30 saves.
"I don't know what to say, it was a really weird game," Lehner said. "I thought we deserved better. What was it, two tips, two off our own bodies? It just felt like everything they threw to the net went their way and it's tough because I felt like I made a lot of really good saves. I felt good today and I let in six goals, so it's frustrating."

The Canucks gave up three straight goals and the lead over a 4:02 stretch in the second period but rallied to tie it 4-4 before the period ended. They went ahead 5-4 on Horvat's first goal at 8:10 of the third, only to see Kane tie it 5-5 at 13:44.
"We stuck with it, that's what good teams do," Gaudette said. "They don't get down. They don't fold. They stick with it and see it out to the end."
Miller put the Canucks ahead 1-0 with a deflection at 5:04 of the first period. Connor Murphy tied it 1-1 at 14:00, one-timing a bouncing puck from the right face-off dot.
Pearson tipped in a high point shot to make it 2-1 at 2:48 of the second period, but David Kampf tied it 2-2 at 4:15.
Kane put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2 at 6:25 with a one-timer on the power play that deflected off Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler.

Toews made it 4-2 at 8:17 with a backhand pass out of the corner that went in off defenseman Quinn Hughes. Hughes responded with a power-play goal at 10:20 to make it 4-3, and Pettersson tied it 4-4 at 11:45 on a one-timer.
"It's a crazy game," Kane said of a second period that saw six goals scored in less than nine minutes. "You got the feeling when we made it 2-2 that it might be a high-scoring game.
"We have a lot of offense in here. It's just being committed to defense and creating that way on the transition by turnovers and backchecking and transitioning the other way. I think we can be really good when we play like that."

They said it

"If you give up six, you're going to lose. We feel we can score. The focus will continue to be on defending." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton
"How do you sum it up? A famous coach once told me that you don't always paint a portrait; sometimes you paint a barn." -- Canucks coach Travis Green

Need to know

Lehner required attention from the Chicago trainer after getting tangled up awkwardly with Pearson with 4:57 left in the third period. He had an ice bag on his right knee after the game, but said it was nothing. … Kane has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games. … Horvat had an NHL career-high nine shots. … Pearson has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past four games. … Pettersson has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past six games. … Miller has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past six games.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Canucks: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, MSG, NHL.TV)