NHL-worst Canucks beat Blackhawks 6-3 to end seven-game skid

CHICAGO (AP) — Brock Boeser batted the puck in to break a 3-3 tie at 2:40 of the third period and the NHL-worst Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Friday night to end a seven-game losing streak that started in January.

Boeser smacked the puck past Arvid Soderblom after Linus Karlsson’s cross-ice feed ramped up the goalie’s stick and into the air. Max Sasson and Boeser added empty-netters.

Drew O’Connor, Jake DeBrusk and Teddy Blueger had first-period goals and Nikita Tolopilo stopped 20 shots to help Vancouver win for the first time since a 2-0 home victory over Anaheim on Jan. 29. The Canucks had lost 10 of 11.

Ryan Donato, Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar scored for Chicago in its fourth loss in five games since the Olympic break. Soderblom made 16 saves.

Before the game, Chicago traded forward Nick Foligno to Minnesota for future considerations. Andrew Mangiapane made his debut for the Blackhawks after being acquired from Edmonton on Wednesday.

Vancouver made a couple of big moves leading up to the trade deadline Friday, sending defenceman Tyler Myers to Dallas on Wednesday and winger Conor Garland to Columbus late Thursday. In December, the Canucks made the biggest deal of the season when they shipped captain Quinn Hughes to Minnesota.

Vancouver led 3-2 after a period. There were three goals in the first 2:32 and four in the first 6:32.

Donato opened the scoring for Chicago on a backhander at 1:08. Vancouver scored the next three — O’Connor at 2:08, DeBrusk at 2:32, both on tips, and Blueger at 6:32.

Mikheyev scored for Chicago from the slot with eight minutes left in the period, and Nazar tied it on a tip with 43 seconds to go in the second.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Blackhawks: Visit the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Associated Press