Canucks add to Blackhawks’ woes
CHICAGO — The Vancouver Canucks have struggled to score since rookie Brock Boeser was shelved by a back injury.
They got some help Thursday night from an unlikely source.
Alexander Edler scored twice in his fourth career multigoal game, and the Canucks stopped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the sliding Chicago Blackhawks.
Henrik Sedin and Bo Horvat each had a goal and an assist as Vancouver won for the first time since Boeser got hurt late in regulation of a 4-3 overtime victory against the New York Islanders on March 5. The Canucks (26-39-9) scored seven goals during their slide, which included three consecutive shutouts.
“I don’t think we played a perfect game, but it was nice to get a win,” Edler said.
Chicago (30-36-9) closed out a three-game homestand with its fifth consecutive loss. Jean-Francois Berube was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 18 shots, and Anton Forsberg finished with eight saves.
The Blackhawks played without captain Jonathan Toews, who is out with an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated next week. Toews got hurt during Tuesday night’s 5-1 loss to Colorado, which officially eliminated Chicago from playoff contention.
Nick Schmaltz and Matthew Highmore scored for Chicago, which has lost seven of eight overall. The Blackhawks have allowed at least five goals in each of their last five games.
“It’s something we’re working on. We talk every day about limiting other team’s chances,” Schmaltz said. “Whether we’re not coming back hard enough or turning pucks over at the blue line, I think we can do a better job of that.”
Schmaltz picked up his 21st of the season when he got a piece of Brent Seabrook’s big slap shot from the right circle at 8:02 of the first, tying it at 1. The Canucks took over from there.
Sedin made it 2-1 when he jumped on a rebound and knocked it by Berube with 2:18 left in the first. It was Sedin’s first goal since Nov. 14 and just his third of the season.
“It’s a good feeling, but I put zero thought into not scoring,” Sedin said. “I felt good for the most part. I mean two goals is not good, but there’s been other guys scoring around me. That’s helped.”
Horvat scored on a rush in the second, and Edler chased Berube when he sent a long slap shot under the goaltender’s left arm 9:38 into the period. The veteran defenceman matched his career best with his first two-goal game since 2011 and No. 4 overall.
“You need offence from your back end,” coach Travis Green said. “Nice to see Eddie get a couple goals tonight.”
Brandon Sutter added his eighth 3:24 into the third, making it 5-1 Vancouver. The Blackhawks got one back when Highmore scored with 3:33 left, but the Canucks were never seriously threatened. OTTAWA — Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
It marked the first time McDavid had ever scored against the Senators (26-36-11), who were eliminated from post-season contention with the loss.
Drake Caggiula also had two goals for the Oilers (33-36-5) with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ty Rattie adding the others. Cam Talbot stopped 33 shots.
Matt Duchene and Filip Chlapik replied for Ottawa while Craig Anderson made 32 saves. NASHVILLE — Auston Matthews had a goal in his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 10 games and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Thursday night.
The Predators had been 14-0-1 since their previous regulation loss on Feb. 17.
James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner each had a goal and an assist, and William Nylander and Jake Gardiner also scored for Toronto. Morgan Rielly had three assists for the Maple Leafs, and Tyler Bozak had two.