VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi scored three goals in the third period for his fourth career hat trick, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.
Bertuzzi opened the scoring just over three minutes into the third period, deflecting a long shot from Matt Grzelcyk with his skate at the side of the net. All seven goals in the game were scored in the third period.
Ilya Mikheyev also scored for the Blackhawks, while Connor Bedard added an empty-net goal and an assist. Bedard has now stretched his point streak to six games, recording five goals and six assists over that span. Ryan Donato contributed two assists for Chicago. Goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 43 shots in the win, which snapped Chicago’s three-game losing streak.
For the Canucks, Aatu Raty and Evander Kane found the back of the net. Despite being outshot 45-28 by Chicago, Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen made 23 saves.
Canucks winger Conor Garland returned to the lineup after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. Vancouver still has five players on its injured reserve list; however, assistant coach Brett McLean said after Wednesday’s morning skate that forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Teddy Blueger are expected to begin practicing soon in noncontact jerseys.
Up next:
– Blackhawks: Visit Calgary on Friday.
– Canucks: Host Columbus on Saturday.