The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20131221232736/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-12-20/sports/ct-blackhawks-canucks-game-spt-1221-20131221_1_daniel-sedin-canucks-patrick-sharp

Canucks tip Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout

Kesler scores winner in eighth round to snap two-game winning streak and spoil goalie Raanta's introduction to rivalry

December 20, 2013|By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter

Antti Raanta got his first real taste of the Blackhawks' rivalry against the Canucks and came away impressed with everything but "flipping the coin" at the end.

"I liked it, I liked it," Raanta said of the showdown between Western Conference foes. "I liked the crowd when they were booing all the time. The national anthems were pretty nice. It got the good vibrations and good energy to the game. I like rivalry games."

What the Hawks' rookie goaltender didn't like as much was the result as the Canucks rallied for a 3-2 shootout victory Friday night at the United Center.

After the Canucks came back from a two-goal deficit in regulation, Ryan Kesler scored the winner in the eighth round of the shootout to snap the Hawks' two-game winning streak

"Any time when you lose a 2-0 lead it's, of course, bad news," Raanta said. "It was a pretty good game both ways. Vancouver was really ready to play against us. We were fighting also but we only got the one point."

Fellow rookie Eddie Lack won the shootout duel with Raanta, allowing only Patrick Sharp's score but stoning seven other Hawks. In addition to Kesler's winner, Raanta allowed Mike Santorelli to beat him in the shootout.

"I try to take it like a good battle," Raanta said of the shootout. "Usually, if you can get three saves in a row you're going to win. I just tried to maintain my focus on those first three and after that it's a battle one against one. Sometimes it feels like somebody is flipping the coin to decide who wins."

Daniel Sedin and Zack Kassian had goals in regulation to make a winner of Lack as the Canucks concluded a three-game trip with the second of back-to-back contests.

Patrick Kane continued his torrid scoring pace with a goal and an assist and Kris Versteeg also found the back of the net but the Hawks coughed up a lead in the first of three consecutive home games.

"We knew that the game was long from being over after the first and second," captain Jonathan Toews said. "Sometimes it's going to come down to the end like that and you have to still try to find a way to win. It's disappointing."

In the first, Versteeg redirected a Kane shot that Lack got a piece of but the puck trickled into the net. With the assist, Kane extended his points streak to 11 contests and is now one game shy of matching his career high set earlier this season.

Kane scored on his own to make it a 2-0 advantage when he pounced on a big rebound of a Michal Rozsival shot and slid it into a gaping net.

Then the Canucks battled back before capturing the second point.

"I thought our power play might have let us down a little bit," Kane said of the unit failing in all four chances. "We didn't really create any momentum off it. And they probably got momentum off killing them off."

ckuc@tribune.com

Twitter @ChrisKuc