Knight's heroics, Bertuzzi's hat trick snaps Blackhawks losing streak against Canucks

The Chicago Blackhawks picked up their first win on this six-game road trip thanks to a third-period offensive explosion against the Vancouver Canucks. After a scoreless 40 minutes, the two teams combined for seven goals in the final frame. The Blackhawks snapped their 11-game losing streak versus the Canucks with a big 5-2 victory.

Tyler Bertuzzi was the hero with a hat trick, with his first two goals coming from his familiar spot at the side of the net. Tonight was his 20th career multi-goal game and fourth hat trick. He was tied with Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato for the team lead in goals until Bedard added a late empty-netter.

"He’s really learned over the years how to build a wall on that back post,” head coach Jeff Blashill said about Bertuzzi. “People shoot for it, and they go in. It’s a great way to score."

For whatever reason, Bertuzzi has played the best hockey of his career under Blashill. The Blackhawks’ bench boss is appreciative of all that Bertuzzi brings on and off the ice.

"Throughout the course of the year, Bert has really competed, he’s worked, he’s been on pucks,” he said. “I think he’s a guy you appreciate more from ice level than you might from up top. Skating doesn’t always look great, but man, he wins pucks."

Hometown Pressure is a Thing of the Past

The last time Bedard was in his hometown, it was one of the lowest points of his young career. His frustration from a long season of struggles got the best of him, and he received a game misconduct penalty for the second straight contest. This led body language “experts” from around the world of hockey to comment on his happiness, or lack thereof.

Tonight was a different story as Bedard was all over the ice from the opening draw. His eventful evening started with a rough face-first ride into the boards, but he didn’t miss a shift.

Bedard had two prime scoring chances in the opening frame, one on a breakaway and another by splitting for defenders. However, he wasn’t credited with a shot on goal on either chance. He extended his point streak to six games with the primary assist on Bertuzzi’s second goal, which came on the power play. Moments before that, Bedard made his best play of the night by backchecking after Artyom Levshunov made a brutal turnover.

Bedard picked up his first two points in his hometown with the empty-net goal and assist. He had five shots on goal on nine attempts. At 5-on-5, he created seven individual scoring chances, three of which were high-danger.

Spencer Knight Saves the Game

Typically, you wouldn’t say that a 5-2 victory is considered a “goalie win,” but the Blackhawks don’t win without Spencer Knight. He was absolutely outstanding all night long, especially in the first 40 minutes. He stopped 34 shots in the opening two periods, including 19 in the middle frame.

Knight got the night off against the Seattle Kraken on Monday, and the extra rest appeared to do him wonders. He was sharp from the opening draw until the final whistle. He allowed two late goals, one on a 2-on-1 rush, and the other through heavy traffic. He has a .923 save percentage (SV%) in his four starts following a night off.

He capped off his 43-save night with the primary assist on Bedard’s empty-net goal.

Nuggets & Tidbits

• Levshunov followed up one of his best games of the season with an eventful game in Vancouver, with some good and some bad moments. He was promoted to the top power-play unit, which started with an ill-advised “sling shot” pass in traffic that nearly led to a shorthanded goal against. He made up for it with the secondary assist on Bertuzzi’s goal moments later. He now has six helpers on the season, and four in his last five games. Levshunov’s pinch led to the 2-on-1 rush that produced the Canucks’ first goal. On the bright side, it’s better for him to be aggressive while up four goals than in a tied game.

• After playing a season-low 8:30 against the Kraken, he was on the ice for 13:24 tonight. He had his most noticeable game of the season, with an assist, two shots on goal, and a takeaway. At 5-on-5, the Blackhawks had a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal, a 6-1 lead in high-danger scoring chances, and outscored the Canucks 2-1. He also had the highest game score according to Hockey Stat Cards.

• The third line had a good night as they had multiple extended shifts in the offensive zone setup by their forechecking and work along the boards. Oliver Moore made a great play behind the net that led to Ilya Mikheyev’s goal for his first point of the season.

• Before the game, Lukas Reichel said he wanted to show the Canucks they made the right move by acquiring him. They are still waiting for him to record his first point. Seven games is a small sample size, but not for Blackhawks fans who have seen these types of games for over two years. Reichel had a breakaway early in the second period but shot it into Knight’s pads. He finished his first game against his former team with two shots on goal, three attempts, two giveaways, and was a minus-2.