Gaunce gets Canucks past Blackhawks

VANCOUVER -- Brendan Gaunce scored two goals to help the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena on Thursday.
Gaunce tied it at 5:33 of the second period when he beat Anton Forsberg between the legs with a wrist shot from inside the right face-off circle. Gaunce, who went 95 games between scoring his first and second NHL goals, scored his second of the game at 17:02 of the third when he drove to the net and redirected Loui Eriksson's centering pass.

WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Canucks highlights]
"It's great to score goals," said Gaunce, who has five goals in 109 NHL games. "You gain some confidence offensively."
Bo Horvat and Daniel Sedin also scored, Troy Stecher had two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves for the Canucks (21-24-6), who won consecutive games at home for the second time this season.

Vancouver has won five of its past eight games after going 2-11-2 in the previous 15.
"We have to expect this from each other each and every night," Sedin said. "We can be a good team down the stretch."
Alex DeBrincat scored at 10:19 of the third period to make it 3-2, but the Blackhawks (24-20-7) failed to win three straight games for the second time this season.
Nick Schmaltz also scored and Forsberg made 17 saves for Chicago, which hasn't won three in a row since its season-high five-game streak from Dec. 8-17.
"It's kind of a game we need to have and a few breakdowns in the second period cost us the game," DeBrincat said.
Schmaltz scored on a breakaway off the right wing to make it 1-0 with at 15:15 of the first period after a nice touch pass by Brandon Saad at the Canucks blue line.

Gaunce tied it on a 2-on-1 after DeBrincat turned the puck over in the neutral zone shortly after a Blackhawks power play.
"We didn't score on that power play where we had the puck and turned nothing into something and that got them going," coach Joel Quenneville said. "To me, that was the big play of the game."
Horvat tipped Stecher's point shot at 9:58 of the second period to make it 2-1, and Sedin made it 3-1 at 2:55 of the third period when he deflected Jake Virtanen's shot.
"When pucks are around our net, we have to make sure we are a little bit tougher and we got better sticks and we're not giving them easy chances around our net," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said.
Gaunce came close to his first NHL hat trick on two attempts that missed the empty net.
"We are so happy for him," Horvat said. "He's worked his (rear end) off to get to this point here. He deserved to get those two goals tonight. To see him finally get rewarded is awesome."

Goal of the game

Gaunce's goal at 17:02 of the third period.

Save of the game

Markstrom's save against David Kampf at 6:02 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Schmaltz's goal at 15:15 of the first period.

They said it

"We have to manage the puck better. We gave up a 2-on-1 and another missed pass at the end of our power play that they ended up scoring on, and we leave Horvat all alone in front for the screen and tip. Forwards and D have to be better. Even if we're giving up the odd chance, can't give up quality the way we did tonight." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews
"Any time you have a tough stretch like we had, you have to look at each other in the mirror and be honest with each other. We weren't where we wanted to be. I think the most important thing is approaching everything day by day, not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Just show up to the rink and try to find a way to win every game." -- Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher

Need to know

Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp was a healthy scratch for a third straight game. … Canucks coach Travis Green did not have an update on forward Sam Gagner, who left after the first period with an upper-body injury. Gagner appeared to be hurt throwing a hit on Tomas Jurco 6:10 into the first but played two more shifts before leaving. … Defenseman Erik Gudbranson returned after missing five games with back spasms.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Canucks: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SUN, NHL.TV)