After several seasons near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Chicago Blackhawks are on a quest to take a step forward.
The young, talented Blackhawks showed better days are coming in their last outing, and will look to continue the momentum when they play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
Chicago has won two straight, the latest an 8-3 road trouncing of the rival St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
“We competed and defended hard,” Blackhawks first-year coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think we’re continuing to improve. I thought there were some good habits there. I thought some guys individually had some good nights.”
The Blackhawks have a long way to go to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders but the positive signs couldn’t be missed in St. Louis.
After learning that captain Nick Foligno would leave the team to be with his daughter, who requires a heart procedure, the Blackhawks erupted against the Blues.
Connor Bedard collected three assists but the catalyst was Lukas Reichel scoring twice in a three-point game, a huge performance for a player who took the spot of Foligno.
“Every game you want to prove something,” Reichel said. “Just how the game went, pucks went my way from the whole team. We were shooting the puck a lot and it kind of went in. I think overall it was a good game and it feels good to have two (wins) in a row.”
The Canucks arrive in the Windy City after an impressive victory of their own. Vancouver snapped a two-game skid with a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday to kick off a five-game road trip.
Dallas had a perfect record before puck drop and held a 2-0 lead after the first period, but the Canucks erased that deficit with a four-goal second period.
“That’s a big win for us,” first-year Vancouver coach Adam Foote said. “A team that’s hot right now and the guys stuck with it. The start of the game didn’t go how we wanted. … I give them a lot of credit.”
The tide turned when the Canucks killed a Stars power play early in the second period. Shortly after, Vancouver got on the board thanks to Filip Chytil’s third goal of the season. Brock Boeser netted a power-play goal a couple of minutes later and then Max Sasson and Conor Garland lit the lamp.
All told, nine Canucks hit the scoresheet, vital for a team that cannot rely on one star to make the difference.
Even bigger was the impact of a turnaround against an elite team and building momentum for the rest of the trip. Instead of beginning the season with just one victory in four games, the Canucks are at .500 and are feeling better about themselves.
“We had no panic,” Garland said. “It’s early. We’re trying to find our game, have a lot of young guys in the lineup trying to get used to the league. Hanging in there against one of the best teams in the Western Conference is a good statement by us.”
