The Vancouver Canucks wasted a critical opportunity on Sunday afternoon and were soundly outplayed in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
NHL top rookie scorer Patrick Kane had two goals and assist to lead Chicago. Andrew Ladd scored his second goal in as many games with the Blackhawks, with Patrick Sharp notching his team-leading 32nd goal.
Vancouver's Daniel Sedin, right, is checked over the boards by James Wisniewski of the Chicago Blackhawks.
(Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)
Goaltender Patrick Lalime faced just 10 shots in net to earn the win. Chicago (31-28-6) moved to within six points of the Western Conference playoff pace.
"Every win is huge," Kane said. 'We'll try to do things the right way to get in [to the playoffs]. From defense comes offence, like the last goal today."
Vancouver came into the game with points in their last eight games, but had blown leads in their last two games, both overtime losses.
Since the trade deadline, where general manager David Nonis failed to complete a deal for an additional scorer, the Canucks have scored just five times in three games.
Coach Alain Vigneault expressed his displeasure about the lack of production from the club's top forwards after Friday's loss to Columbus.
The team failed to respond in Chicago, where they had gone 7-0-1 in the previous eight visits. At one point, the Blackhawks held a 16-2 advantage in shots.
Ryan Kessler was the lone scorer, assisted by Alex Burrows, late in the second period.
Luongo stops 22 shots
Roberto Luongo made 22 saves before being replaced after the fourth goal by Curtis Sanford, who had two stops.
Team captain Markus Naslund has now gone a season-long five games without a point, with twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin held off the scoresheet for a third straight time.
"They wanted it more than we did," Naslund said. "They came out hard and we didn't respond to them at all.
"Ten shots on goal? That's embarrassing," he added. "Considering where we are, we should be more desperate than they are."
Vigneault agreed.
"They came to play," the Canucks coach said. "They played hard, they were physical and they were the better team on the ice."
Vancouver (32-23-10) now have just one game in hand on Colorado and Nashville, the teams they are tied with for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Canucks will face the Avalanche in Denver on Tuesday.
Chicago opened the scoring late in the first when Kane forced a turnover and Ladd pounced on a rebound.
Ladd, 22, was acquired from Carolina in a trade for Tuomo Ruutu on Tuesday's trade deadline.
Flat second period for Canucks
Despite a 9-2 shot advantage for the Blackhawks, Vancouver came out flat for a second straight period, and it resembled a shooting gallery on Luongo.
Ladd narrowly missed getting another goal early in the second, hitting the crossbar.
Kane then rang a shot off the post with Jeff Cowan in the penalty box but was rewarded just seconds later with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle at the 4:19 mark.
Ryan Kesler responded for the Canucks, picking up a loose puck and speeding down the left wing, firing a shot over Lalime's glove.
The two-goal lead was restored early in the third when Sharp, a veritable greybeard on Chicago's roster at 26, deflected Duncan Keith's shot into the net.
Kane added his second midway through the third. The 19-year-old rookie now has 16 goals and 38 assists in 64 games this season.
Matt Pettinger, acquired by Vancouver at the trade deadline for Matt Cooke, dropped the gloves in the third with Cam Barker.
The fight came after Pettinger high-sticked Blackhawk rookie Jonathan Toews, who was bloodied and did not return to the ice.
The Blackhawks are 25-18-4 with Toews in the lineup, and just 6-10-2 in his absence.
Jason Williams had a pair of assists for the second straight game for Chicago. He has two goals and five assists in five games since returning from a layoff of nearly two months due to a hamstring injury.
