Boeser breaks tie in 3rd, Canucks defeat Blackhawks to end 7-game skid

CHICAGO -- Brock Boeser scored the tiebreaking goal while on a power play at 2:40 of the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks recovered for a 6-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Friday.

Boeser put the Canucks ahead 4-3 when he batted the puck into the net on a rebound of a shot by Linus Karlsson from the right dot. Boeser also had an empty-net goal to cap off a three-goal third period for Vancouver.

The victory came hours after the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. Ahead of deadline day, the Canucks dealt Conor Garland, David Kampf, Jett Woo and Tyler Myers.

“I definitely think it was on a lot of guys’ minds, the guys that didn’t get traded who are here. So it’s nice to get it past," Boeser said. "Now we can focus on playing some better hockey and better structure, better system, better details. When we are focused and have a good game on the small details, we play much better games.”

Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, Marcus Pettersson tallied two assists, and Nikita Tolopilo made 20 saves for the Canucks (19-36-7), who were 0-5-2 in their previous seven games.

“We had a tough start. They stayed with it," Canucks coach Adam Foote said. "This type of day is hard. Leading up to it for a couple weeks is hard on the whole team, a lot of noise. You could tell that a couple guys felt a lot better after the deadline. It showed tonight.”

Frank Nazar had a goal and an assist, and Arvid Soderblom made 16 saves for the Blackhawks (23-29-10), who are 1-4-1 in their last six games. Soderblom was a late replacement for Spencer Knight, who was ill.

“I think one of the things we’ve done really well coming out of the (Olympic) break, we were excellent defensively for four games,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “So that puts you in position to win games every night. It puts you in position to win games against any style of team, and I just thought tonight we weren’t good enough defensively at all, or early. It showed.”

Ryan Donato gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 1:08 of the first period. Donato followed his own dump-in off the end boards, picked up the puck and backhanded it into the net from a steep angle.

Just 60 seconds later, Drew O'Connor tied the game 1-1 at 2:08 when he tipped in Tom Willander’s shot from the right face-off circle.

DeBrusk put the Canucks ahead 2-1 at 2:32 when he redirected Zeev Buium's shot for a tip-in goal past Soderblom’s stick side.

“It was just a face-off play,” DeBrusk said. “Shot was coming. I kind of got lucky. I was just trying to guess, honestly, where (Buium) was shooting. I couldn’t see him. It hit my stick and went in. I haven’t had any of those this year, so it was nice to get one, I guess.”

The Canucks went up 3-1 at 6:32 when Teddy Blueger poked the puck past Soderblom's stick side after Marcus Pettersson fed the puck across the crease to him at the front of the net.

Ilya Mikheyev cut the deficit 3-2 with a snap shot when Tolopilo's glove side was left vulnerable thanks to a quick tic-tac-toe passing play in front by Oliver Moore and Tyler Bertuzzi at 12:00.

The Blackhawks tied the game 3-3 at 19:17 of the second period when Nazar tipped in Alex Vlasic’s shot from the left point.

The Blackhawks will proceed with a young roster after the trade of captain Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild on Friday and the recent deals that sent defenseman Connor Murphy, as well as forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach, to the Edmonton Oilers.

“At the end of the day, we're here to play for Chicago, so you've got to focus on that first, then where everybody else is going,” Nazar said. “We've got to show up tonight, including myself. Play to our defense and be ready from the start.”

Landon Slaggert appeared to even it for the Blackhawks 4-4 at 15:00 of the third period, although the goal was waved off after officials ruled Slaggert made a kicking motion to direct the puck into the net.

Max Sasson's empty-net goal at 18:34 to pushed it to 5-3, then Boeser scored on the empty net for the 6-3 final at 19:44.

NOTES: Vancouver claimed forward Curtis Douglas off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Douglas was listed as a scratch against the Blackhawks. … Chicago forwards Connor Bedard and Bertuzzi will be alternate captains for the remainder of the season following the trade of Foligno. The Blackhawks likely won’t name a new captain until next season. … To fill Knight’s spot on the roster, the Blackhawks signed goalie Caydon Edwards to a PTO to back up Soderblom.