FRIDAY'S LATE GAMES

Blackhawks 4, Ducks 3, SO
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Tuomo Ruutu scored the tying goal with 9:21 left in regulation and had the only goal in the shootout, leading Chicago. Patrick Sharp had a goal and an assist, Martin Lapointe also scored and Michael Holmqvist had two assists, helping the Blackhawks stop a five-game road losing streak. Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin made 42 saves in his first start since Oct. 21. The four-time All-Star missed the previous nine games because of a broken index finger on the hand he wears his blocking pad. Scott Niedermayer had three assists for the Ducks, who got power-play goals from Teemu Selanne and Chris Kunitz. Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves in his sixth start this season. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who surrendered five goals on 11 shots in Wednesday's 7-4 home loss to Philadelphia and was benched in the first period, got the night off for Anaheim. Bryzgalov, competing in a shootout for the first time in his NHL career, was beaten to the stick side by Ruutu with Chicago's third shot. Bryzgalov beat the Blackhawks 3-0 on Oct. 28 at Chicago while facing just 14 shots, the fewest ever against a Ducks goaltender in a shutout. The last time he started a game, on Nov. 10 at Calgary, he was benched after giving up two goals on three shots.
Canucks 4, Blues 2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Markus Naslund scored twice and Ryan Kesler added an insurance goal with 1:01 left to lift Vancouver. Brendan Morrison also scored and Roberto Luongo made 19 saves as the Canucks won for just the second time in eight games. Doug Weight scored his first goal of the season, and Keith Tkachuk added his sixth for the Blues, who have lost six of the last seven and are now 1-7-1 on the road this season. Jason Bacashihua, recalled from AHL Peoria after Curtis Sanford was hurt Tuesday, got his first NHL start of the season one night after Manny Legace was pulled in Edmonton for giving up four goals on 15 shots. Bacashihua made 40 saves to keep the Blues in the game. Weight, who played his 1,000th career game Thursday, opened the scoring when a weak backcheck from Naslund left him in alone on Luongo 9 minutes in. Morrison tied it with his first in nine games and Naslund gave the Canucks the lead for good early in the second period, racing behind St. Louis defenseman Bryce Salvador to try and redirect Henrik Sedin's pass from the blue line, then lifting the rebound over Bacashihua from a sharp angle. The Canucks' captain made it 3-1 with two minutes left in the period, snapping a shot from the slot through traffic and over Bacashihua's shoulder for a 3-1 lead. It was the first time in nine games that the Canucks scored more than two goals in regulation, and the first time since Dec. 23, 2005, that Naslund scored more than once. Naslund, who has nine goals this season, had two great chances in the third for his first hat trick in almost three years, but Bacashihua barely kept his breakaway deke from crossing the goal line early and stopped a redirect in tight midway through the period. Tkachuk then closed the gap on the power play with 7:26 left, tipping Weight's point shot through traffic and past Luongo to end a long run of power-play struggles for the Blues and penalty killing success for the Canucks. St. Louis was 0-for-4 and hadn't scored in 21 chances over the last five games before the goal, while Vancouver had killed off 30 straight penalties. But Kesler caught Bacashihua heading for the bench and beat him with a backhand on the breakaway to seal the win.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Markus Naslund scored twice and Ryan Kesler added an insurance goal with 1:01 left to lift Vancouver. Brendan Morrison also scored and Roberto Luongo made 19 saves as the Canucks won for just the second time in eight games. Doug Weight scored his first goal of the season, and Keith Tkachuk added his sixth for the Blues, who have lost six of the last seven and are now 1-7-1 on the road this season. Jason Bacashihua, recalled from AHL Peoria after Curtis Sanford was hurt Tuesday, got his first NHL start of the season one night after Manny Legace was pulled in Edmonton for giving up four goals on 15 shots. Bacashihua made 40 saves to keep the Blues in the game. Weight, who played his 1,000th career game Thursday, opened the scoring when a weak backcheck from Naslund left him in alone on Luongo 9 minutes in. Morrison tied it with his first in nine games and Naslund gave the Canucks the lead for good early in the second period, racing behind St. Louis defenseman Bryce Salvador to try and redirect Henrik Sedin's pass from the blue line, then lifting the rebound over Bacashihua from a sharp angle. The Canucks' captain made it 3-1 with two minutes left in the period, snapping a shot from the slot through traffic and over Bacashihua's shoulder for a 3-1 lead. It was the first time in nine games that the Canucks scored more than two goals in regulation, and the first time since Dec. 23, 2005, that Naslund scored more than once. Naslund, who has nine goals this season, had two great chances in the third for his first hat trick in almost three years, but Bacashihua barely kept his breakaway deke from crossing the goal line early and stopped a redirect in tight midway through the period. Tkachuk then closed the gap on the power play with 7:26 left, tipping Weight's point shot through traffic and past Luongo to end a long run of power-play struggles for the Blues and penalty killing success for the Canucks. St. Louis was 0-for-4 and hadn't scored in 21 chances over the last five games before the goal, while Vancouver had killed off 30 straight penalties. But Kesler caught Bacashihua heading for the bench and beat him with a backhand on the breakaway to seal the win.
Associated Press