Canucks beat Blackhawks in coach Tocchet’s debut

The Vancouver Canucks battled back from two one-goal deficits to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 and give Rick Tocchet a win in his first game as head coach despite having only one practice and one game-day skate to prepare for the clash.

Smart hockey. pic.twitter.com/dcD8taMlXQ

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 25, 2023

Tocchet was appointed as Vancouver’s 21st head coach on Sunday after Bruce Boudreau was sacked along with assistant coach Trent Cull.

The Canucks also named Adam Foote as an assistant coach and Sergei Gonchar as a defensive development coach.

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Dakota Joshua and Sheldon Dries scored goals 34 seconds apart in the third period and the Canucks outshot the Blackhawk 48-14 and failed to score on five power-play chances.

Andrei Kuzmenko scored twice for the Canucks, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Elias Pettersson had two assists, giving him six goals and 22 assists in the last 16 games.

Bo Horvat also scored shorthanded into an empty net at 18:34, matching a career high of 31 goals in a season while Vancouver goaltender Collin Delia stopped 12 shots.

Patrick Kane and Sam Lafferty scored for the Blackhawks, who lost their second consecutive game.

The Canucks visit Seatle on Wednesday night before returning home to face Columbus on Friday. The Blackhawks continue their road trip with games in Calgary on Thursday and Edmonton Saturday before returning home to face Anaheim on Feb. 7.