VANCOVER – Marc-André Fleury blocked 40 shots to secure his first shutdown of the season on Sunday as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Canucks 1-0 in Vancouver.
Brandon Hagel scored the only goal of the game with a signal from the third half.
Fleury had his 68th career point and improved his last record against Vancouver to 13-0-2.
Thatcher Demko stopped 23 of 24 Canucks shots (6-11-2).
Vancouver dominated the play for most of the first two innings, but faltered in the third, giving up an early goal and struggling to trigger an attack.
Chicago (6-10-2) had just lost 5-2 to the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday. Vancouver beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 at home on Friday and were looking for just two straight wins for the second time this season.
The Canucks had a late chance after calling Chicago quarterback Jack McCabe to face Tanner Pearson just over two minutes before the clock.
Vancouver shot Fleury and hit the pressure with just 90 seconds left, pulling Demko in favor of an additional forward, but the veteran goaltender withstood a barrage of attacks. Saved six times to kill the penalty.
The Canucks were 0-3 on Sunday’s power play.
Hagel finally broke the 0:12 draw in the third, with a long shot from Eric Gustafson to score his fifth goal of the season.
Vancouver dominated the game for most of the first two periods, edging the visitors 30-13, but couldn’t find the net.
Fleury had plenty of help from his posts, with several shots from the Metal Canucks, including Pearson, who nearly scored the point halfway through Game 3.
Conor Garland had the chance to score halfway through the opening. The spirited forward clashed with McCabe and circled tightly, but his backhand shot was spotted by Fleury’s pillow.
Towards the end of the second half, Garland gave a free pass to Vasily Podkolzin when he hit the net, only to see the Russian novice’s shot slipping off the post.
Dylan Strom almost opened the scoring for Chicago about four minutes from the end of the game after JT Miller returned a disc in front of the Canucks crease. Strom picked it up and fired a shot, narrowly missing the goal.
Vancouver had a slight breakthrough on Sunday, eliminating three shots on goal. The team entered the game with the worst penalty in the league at 60.3 percent.
The Canucks will start a crazy four-game run on Wednesday when they face the Penguins in Pittsburgh. The Black Hawks visit the Calgary Flames sector on Tuesday.
Notes: This was the second time the two teams have met this season after Vancouver made a 4-1 decision in Chicago on Oct. 21… He had two goals and six assists in overtime. … The Canucks haven’t won a consecutive game since October 23.
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