Canucks beat Kane-free Blackhawks
The Blackhawks caught a rough break as a sick Patrick Kane was unable to play at Vancouver on Wednesday, and the Canucks overcame a pair of 1-goal deficits to post a 4-2 victory.
Kane's consecutive-games streak was snapped at 258. He hadn't missed a game since Feb. 26, 2015, two days after breaking his collarbone against Florida at the United Center.
Brendan Gaunce snapped a 2-2 tie and potted the game-winner for Vancouver with 10:37 left in the game after picking off a Jonathan Toews pass intended for a stickless John Hayden. Toews didn't realize Hayden had given his stick to Henri Jokiharju just seconds earlier.
Antoine Roussel added an insurance goal with 3:27 remaining.
The Hawks fell to 6-4-3, while Vancouver improved to 8-6-0.
Kane's absence figured to leave a huge hole for the Hawks as the superstar leads the league in goals (11), even-strength goals (10), third-period goals (6) and shots (58).
Chris Kunitz, taking Kane's spot on the second line, played perhaps his best game of the season. He immediately made his presence felt by assisting on a Brandon Saad goal that gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead at 6:56 of the first period. It was Saad's third goal and Kunitz's second assist.
Jonathan Toews also scored for the Hawks, and Jake Virtanen scored 2 goals for Vancouver. Toews' goal was the 299th of his career, moving him past Dennis Hull and into sixth place in Blackhawks history.
The 39-year-old Kunitz, who has 263 goals in 978 career games, was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career during the Hawks' 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton on Sunday.
"I wasn't aware when we scratched Chris the other day (that) it was the first time," coach Joel Quenneville told reporters Wednesday morning. "I felt bad that I'd be the first guy to do that in a long, distinguished career. So it's not an easy thing to do."
The Hawks are carrying two extra forwards and one extra defenseman, so there's fierce competition for ice time and to remain in the lineup. In addition to Kane, Andreas Martinsen and Jan Rutta were the other scratches against the Canucks.
Quenneville always wants to see how a player reacts to being benched, and he loved Kunitz's response.
Said Quenneville after the morning skate: "Just watching Chris today in practice, he was as good as anybody was on the ice as far as, 'Hey, (I'm) not going to let that happen again.'"
The Hawks continue their three-game road trip in Edmonton on Thursday and wrap it up in Calgary on Saturday. They will then host former teammate Scott Darling and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, Nov. 8.
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, 8 p.m. Thursday at Rogers Place
TV: NBCSCH • Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: The Oilers just beat the Hawks 2-1 at the United Center on Sunday when Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime. McDavid then scored two nights later in a 4-3 loss to the Wild, extending his goal streak to five straight games. He has 9 on the season. ... Edmonton went 0-for-5 on the power play against Minnesota, while the Wild went 3-for-3. "That's not good," McDavid said. ... The Hawks had eight minutes of power-play time against Edmonton but managed just 2 shots on goal. One resulted in Brent Seabrook's first-period goal while the Hawks were on a two-man advantage. ... The Hawks and Oilers meet one more time this season on Feb. 5 at the United Center.
Next: Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome, 9 p.m. Saturday
- John Dietz