Halak makes 20 saves, Canucks defeat Blackhawks

CHICAGO --Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves for the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Monday.

It was Halak's first game since Dec. 30; he was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Jan. 15.
"It is always hard, even if you don't play for a couple weeks or a month, it is hard, especially being out for 10 days, meeting the group and trying to get in the groove right away," Halak said. "It's never easy. The guys played pretty good in front of me, and we didn't give them a lot, especially in the third (period). They got that first goal, but I still think we played pretty good defensive hockey in the third. Really a great effort."
Alex Chiasson scored for the Canucks (20-19-6), who are 2-0-1 on a four-game road trip that concludes Tuesday at the Nashville Predators. They lost 1-0 in overtime at the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
"We talked about it," Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. "The guys have a lot of pride. They knew they didn't play as well as A), they were capable, or B), that they had been doing in recent games, so they wanted to come back and have a really good game. I thought for the most part, we really kept them at bay. We played pretty well. A really good road game."

Connor Murphy scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for the Blackhawks (16-22-7), who have lost six of their past seven games.
"It's a crazy game, especially on my side," Chicago coach Derek King said. "First few shifts, we couldn't handle pucks, we were giving them away. We settled in and we were kind of in it, but we made a couple mistakes and they capitalized, (which) seems to be our M.O. We don't have that luxury of making two or three mistakes. We have to play a pretty solid hockey game, and we were just flat at times. We had a few pushes, but we were a little flat.
"I think they're trying. I really do believe we're trying. Sometimes they don't try the right way, if that makes sense. They work hard at times, and then sometimes, they don't work smart. And I'll keep pushing it on them, I'll keep sending the message that we have to play a certain style of hockey to be able to at least have a chance to win a hockey game."
Chiasson, who played his 600th NHL game, gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 12:21 of the first period with a wrist shot from the slot. It was his fifth goal of the season.
"Pretty special," Chiasson said. "I think today I had a moment just to realize a lot that I've been through. I've had a lot of people supporting me throughout the process. This isn't just about me. I'm thankful for them. This is the greatest game to play. I've had the opportunity to win (the Stanley Cup) in Washington. I think that kind of keeps you open-minded on things.
"I've had the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the game. This game has given me so much. I just feel really grateful for these opportunities and now being part of this group."

Brock Boeser made it 2-0 at 4:28 of the second when he tipped in a shot from Quinn Hughes, who skated into the left face-off circle and shot from a sharp angle.
Murphy cut it to 2-1 at 13:01 of the third period on a one-timer from the left circle from Patrick Kane, but Luke Schenn scored an empty-net goal with 21 seconds left for the 3-1 final.
"It's not good on us to have two days at home to get ready for a big game," Murphy said. "Can't happen at home, to take that long to get into a game.
"Yeah, guys want it still. I think like anything, you show up to the rink every day and want to put your best foot forward and show what you have. Sometimes, your body or mind isn't clicking the way it has on some other days. That's the big challenge on some of those nights, to do what you can to simplify your game or get back to your foundation and push the game along in a safe way, so that it'll pick up at some point."
NOTES: Vancouver went 0-for-4 on the power play; Chicago went 0-for-2. … Canucks forward J.T. Miller won nine of 14 face-offs (64.3 percent). … Vancouver defenseman Tucker Poolman missed his second straight game with an illness, but Boudreau said it is non-COVID-19 related. … Kane has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in the past two games. … Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach had an assist, his first point in eight games.