Chicago @ Vancouver preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 7, 2019 ) Vancouver 2, Chicago 5

One team’s winning streak will end when the Chicago Blackhawks aim for their fourth consecutive victory Thursday in Vancouver where they’ll face a Canucks squad which has won its past five games. Both teams are coming off successful visits to Calgary where the Canucks left with a 5-2 triumph over the Flames on Sunday and the Blackhawks came out on the right side of a 5-3 decision Tuesday.

After Chicago had built a 4-0 advantage over Calgary on Tuesday - thanks to three first-period points from Patrick Kane - the Blackhawks surrendered the next three goals to the Flames before escaping with their fifth win in six games. “We came out flying. Short shifts, everyone getting into the game, capitalizing on our chances,” Kane told reporters after his team’s first victory in Calgary in over three years. “That’s a recipe to win on the road. It’s a tough league to play that way. There’s so much parity and there’s so much offensive skill. You know the other team’s going to have a push.” Vancouver is on its longest win streak since the 2016-17 season after the Canucks won for just the fourth time in their last 15 visits to Calgary. “We are feeling confident,” Vancouver captain Bo Horvat told the media after his team moved past the Flames into third place in a tight Pacific Division. “It’s nice to be on a bit of a roll, but we have to keep it going because every point is crucial at this stage.”

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Chicago Plus, Sportsnet Pacific

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (18-17-6): Kane recorded eight goals and seven assists in his last nine games and boasts a team-high 51 points - 22 more than Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome, who are tied for second with 29 points apiece. Goaltender Robin Lehner improved to 12-6-4 with a 41-save performance Tuesday and, in his first season with the Blackhawks, has cemented himself as the starter moving forward with wins in each of his last six starts. Incumbent Corey Crawford struggled to a 1-5-0 record in December with a 3.78 goals-against average and .889 save percentage.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (21-15-4): Defenseman Tyler Myers gave Vancouver an early lead with a pair of first-period goals Sunday - the first blueliner to achieve the feat for the franchise since Ed Jovanovski on Dec. 21, 2000. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom started nine consecutive games for the Canucks while backup Thatcher Demko was dealing with a concussion, but the latter returned to the crease Sunday to stop 23-of-25 shots and improve his record to 8-4-1. Right wing Jake Virtanen added a goal and an assist Sunday and has produced five goals and three assists in his last eight games.

OVERTIME

1. The Canucks have outscored their opponents 11-2 during the first period over their last five games.

2. Kane finished the 2010s with more points than any other player in the NHL (802) and the second-most ever by a Blackhawks player in a single decade behind Denis Savard (984 during the 1980s).

3. Vancouver D Quinn Hughes leads all rookies with 25 assists and 15 points on the power play.

PREDICTION: Canucks 3, Blackhawks 1