Former Wolves goalie Eddie Lack stonewalls Hawks in shootout
Eddie Lack called it the biggest start of his brief NHL career.
The Vancouver Canucks goalie certainly rose to the occasion.
Lack, who previously played for the Chicago Wolves, made 24 saves, then stopped 7 of 8 attempts in the shootout to lead the Canucks back from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks at the United Center on Friday.
“I thought we all did a huge job coming back from 2-0 and taking it to the shootout,” Lack said. “It was a good game for sure.”
Patrick Sharp was the only Hawk to beat Lack in the shootout, which was decided when the Canucks' Ryan Kesler scored in the eighth round.
The Hawks are 4-4 in shootouts this season. Patrick Kane has yet to score a shootout goal in 8 tries.
“It's been an ongoing thing here where our shootouts have been just OK,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We've been pretty effective in the past and this year it's been a little dry. We practice it and we work on it, but it's a confidence thing and a feel thing.”
The Hawks went 0-for-4 on the power play, snapping their streak of 10 straight games with at least 1 goal.
The Canucks came into the game ranked first in the NHL in penalty killing.
“We had our chances on the power play and we just didn't create enough,” Jonathan Toews said. “We've got to take advantage of those opportunities and we just didn't do that tonight.
“They pressure well and we just couldn't seem to settle the puck down. We seemed to be watching each other and not playing well enough without the puck. We didn't take enough quality shots.”
Quenneville knew it was going to be a tough night against the Vancouver penalty killers — and it was.
“They kill penalties well,” Quenneville said. “There's no time or space. I think we didn't shoot enough. They're at the top of the league for all the right reasons and tonight we saw how effective they are as a unit.”
Kane thought the power play could have been the difference in the game.
“I thought our power play might've let us down a little bit tonight,” Kane said. “We didn't really create any momentum off of it and they probably got momentum off them killing them off, so it's something we'll try to improve on.
“It's definitely disappointing when you're up 2-0 to give up a lead and then lose the game.”
Kane's 21st goal at 4:56 of the second period put the Hawks ahead 2-0. Kane's backhander hit Canucks defender Brad Richardson and snuck past Lack.
The Canucks tied it in the third period when Daniel Sedin scored a nifty goal, stopping the puck with his skate, kicking it to his forehand and flipping it past Antti Raanta.
“First period, I think we showed them a little bit too much respect,” said Canucks coach John Tortorella. “You should respect that team. It's a really good hockey club, but I think we just kind of tested the waters a little bit. I thought we started taking over the game in the second period.”
The Hawks led 2-1 going to the third period with Kane taking care of the offense and Raanta leading the way at the other end.
After facing just 3 shots in the first period, Raanta was under siege early in the second and was up to the task. Raanta stopped 13 of 14 shots in the second period.
Zack Kassian's perfectly placed shot was the only goal Raanta allowed midway through the second to make it 2-1. Kassian snapped a shot that defected in off of Brent Seabrook, who tried to block it.
Kane had an assist on Kris Versteeg's first period goal, giving him points in 23 of 24 games.
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