VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Dakota Joshua and Sheldon Dries scored 34 seconds apart in the third period as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2, on Tuesday night as Rick Tocet stepped up as coach. We won the first match.
Tocet was named the 21st head coach in Canucks history on Sunday after Bruce Boudreau was fired along with his assistant Trent Cull. Vancouver hired Adam Foote as assistant coach and Sergey Gonchar as defensive development coach.
There was a mix of boos and cheers as Tocchet was introduced to the crowd in the first period. The game was 3:30 when a fan threw the Canucks jersey onto the ice.
Vancouver beat the Blackhawks 48-14 and fought back from a 2-1 loss, but failed to score on five power play chances.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored twice for the Canucks (19-25-3) and had a three-game losing streak. Elias Pettersson has recorded two assists and in the last 16 games he has scored six goals and 22 assists. Bo his Hovat scored short-handed into an empty net, matching his career-high 31 goals in the season.
Patrick Kane and Sam Lafferty scored for the Blackhawks (14-28-4), who lost two in a row after winning three in a row. Petr Mazek recorded his 43 saves.
Vancouver goalkeeper Colin Delia stopped 12 shots.
The Canucks’ lead came seconds after Kane missed a good scoring chance.
Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes sent the pack-up ice. Brock Voser tried to bank a shot from a sharp angle. Murazek stopped the puck, but Joshua took his 3-2 lead at 11:34.
After the next showdown, Murazek stopped Conor Garland’s shot before Doris ordered the rebound with a shot from between his legs.
Kuzmenko scored his 20th and 21st goals in the second period to equalize 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Note: Tochet, who also coached Tampa Bay and Arizona, skated one practice and one game day in preparation for the Blackhawks. … Vancouver failed to score on a four-minute power play early in the first period when Chicago’s Seth Jones was called for the high stick. …Chicago center Max Domme was rated inciting underage, fighting big, and cheating in his 10 minutes in his 8:13 fight with Joshua in the second period. Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson, who scored 14 points in 22 games, was placed on injured reserve after aggravating his left ankle injury.
next
Blackhawks: Thursday night in Calgary.
Canucks: Wednesday night in Seattle.
___
AP NHL: www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports
