VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Blackhawks have been afflicted by an epidemic of unintentional, fluky “own goals” this season, and the bug hit Seth Jones again Thursday.
Canucks forward Vitali Kravtsov — coincidentally traded from the Rangers as part of preparations for the Patrick Kane trade — deflected a power-play goal in off Jones’ stick in the second period.
That goal doubled the Canucks’ advantage, and the Hawks were never able to dent Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko before an empty-net goal sealed a 3-0 defeat.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Jones said. “I don’t even know how many I have in my own freaking net this year. I’m trying to take the backdoor play and it’s so unlucky. It seems like that happens to us way more than it should.”
Ian Mitchell has been a particularly frequent victim, including two memorable recent occasions Tuesday against the Flames and March 20 against the Avalanche, but no Hawks defenseman has been entirely spared.
“Sometimes those go in streaks and you think it’s something you’re doing,” coach Luke Richardson said. “But Seth’s in the right position. If he’s not there, [Canucks forward Sheldon Dries] is right behind him on the back door and he’s going to tap it in. If [Seth’s] body is a quarter-turned, he probably is strong enough on his blade to keep that out. He was mad at himself. But it’s a quick play. Things happen quick.”
The Hawks were generally pleased with their overall team game. They finished with a 31-26 edge in scoring chances, including 13-7 in the third period, and 33-29 edge in shots on goal.
Taylor Raddysh recorded seven scoring chances all by himself, leading the team, but he left late in the third period with a lower-body injury and will be evaluated Friday, Richardson said. Even Boris Katchouk generated several golden opportunities that Demko denied.
“We played a really sound game,” Jason Dickinson said. “We were moving our legs really well. We checked really well. We took pucks to the net. We were thinking shot-first a lot of the time. We created a lot. We didn’t give up a whole lot.”
Alex Stalock was stellar in the Hawks’ own net, including a highlight-reel flailing save on Anthony Beauvillier, but it wasn’t enough. The Hawks’ offense was shut out for the ninth time this season.
The loss kept the Hawks in a three-way tie with the Blue Jackets (who lost 8-1 to the Devils) and Ducks (who were idle) for last place in the NHL. All three teams have earned 56 points through 78 games. But the Hawks have the most regulation wins this season — the first tiebreaker — and thus would enter the draft lottery with only the third-highest odds at the moment.
