Brandon Hagel’s goal in the third period gave the Chicago Blackhawks enough offense for a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at Rogers Arena, but it was Marc-André Fleury who stole the show, giving the Hawks their first shutout of the season.
Fleury made 40 saves and battled through a late penalty kill, stopping four shots on goal during the Canucks’ furious last-ditch effort. It was Fleury’s 68th career shutout.
Hagel redirected Erik Gustafsson’s blast past Thatcher Demko for his fifth goal of the season.
The Hawks improved to 6-10-2 overall and 5-1-0 under interim coach Derek King.
Hagel returned from a shoulder injury Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers and hurt it again during the game, but he shook it off and returned in the third period.
He certainly helped the Hawks against the Canucks. His line with Jonathan Toews and Dylan Strome had the best puck possession numbers, and Hagel drew a third-period hooking penalty shortly after recovering a Canucks giveaway.
Offense was hard to come by for both teams during the first two periods.
The Canucks came in with the worst penalty kill in the league, but the Hawks couldn’t capitalize on three man-advantage opportunities.
The Canucks came up empty on two power plays too.
Fleury stopped seven shots on the Canucks’ first power play. Then in the second period, Fleury weathered sustained offensive pressure, including back-to-back close-range shots by Vasily Podkolzin and Elias Pettersson.
He faced 15 shots in each of the first two periods and 10 in the third, though at least three other attempts on Fleury drew iron.
Demko stopped 23, including a rebound try by Strome on the power play.
