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Blackhawks rally to beat Canucks

Nov 24, 2013 - 7:40 AM Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger scored nine seconds apart in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.

Corey Crawford aided Chicago's comeback by stopping all 14 shots he faced in the final frame, part of a 36-save effort that helped lift the Blackhawks to their seventh win in nine games.

"I didn't mind the way we played for 40 minutes down a goal. We got a lucky one to get us going, and a great response on the following shift. It was nice to see us find a way," said Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville.

Vancouver, on the other hand, has dropped six of seven and has managed only seven goals in those losses. The Canucks had a brief breakout in Friday's 6-2 decision over Columbus, but Ryan Kesler's power-play tally late in the first period served as Crawford's lone blemish on the night.

"I thought we did a lot of good things, but we beat ourselves tonight. We played a good game," said Canucks coach John Tortorella.

Roberto Luongo turned aside 27 chances for Vancouver.

Luongo was equally as good as his counterpart for the majority of the game, but the Blackhawks turned up the intensity over the final 20 minutes while faced with a 1-0 deficit.

Patrick Sharp nearly had the equalizer with Chicago on the power play early in the third period, but his blast from the point struck the right post and the Canucks eventually killed off the penalty.

The Blackhawks kept coming, however, and finally broke through when Patrick Kane turned around and fired a pass in front that Shaw tipped home at the 4:40 mark.

Just moments after the ensuing faceoff, Kruger beat Vancouver defenseman Ryan Stanton to a puck sent along the boards to create a 2-on-1 that he finished with a wicked wrister that trickled through Luongo's pads and left the home crowd stunned.

Crawford made the lead stand the rest of the way, with the Canucks finding no success despite pressuring the Chicago zone with Luongo pulled in the waning stages.

Vancouver failed on a pair of power-play chances in the opening period, but was able to capitalize on an interference call to Shaw less than two minutes prior to the intermission.

Crawford stopped a long drive from Jason Garrison but left an opening for Kesler, who fired the rebound into the net with 1:27 remaining in the stanza.

The Canucks put up 13 shots during a strong second period, but Crawford remained sharp to keep it a 1-0 game.

Game Notes

Kane's assist on Shaw's goal extended his point streak to 10 games, during which he's amassed five goals and nine helpers ... Kesler's power-play goal was only the ninth this season for Vancouver, which entered the contest 29th in the league in man-advantage situations ... Chicago forward Bryan Bickell sat out a second straight game with a lower-body injury ... Four of the previous five regular-season meetings between the clubs had been decided in overtime or by shootout.