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Chicago • Ray Emery held the puck in his outstretched glove for one sweet moment, then let it fall to the ice.
It was time to celebrate.
The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in a shootout Tuesday night to make it 16 straight games with at least one point, matching the NHL record to start a season.
"It's a remarkable start," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We're very happy and pleased. Guys should be proud of the achievement and where they're at, especially in a 48-game season. It's put us in a real good spot."
Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw scored in the tiebreaker for the Blackhawks (13-0-3), who earned their third consecutive win and joined the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks as the only teams to record at least one point in the first 16 games of a season. The Ducks got off to a 12-0-4 start that year and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Chicago will go for the record Friday night when it hosts the San Jose Sharks for the second time in a week. But it could be without Marian Hossa for that one after the star forward had to be helped off the ice during the third period following a forearm to the back of the head from Vancouver forward Jannik Hansen.
"It's great to start, but that's all it is: It's a start," Emery said. "You want to see it at the end of the year, that's when it counts."
Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieksa each scored in the final 2:42 of regulation for the Canucks, who opened a four-game trip with their third consecutive loss. Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist, and twin brother Henrik had two assists.
"We had a great comeback against one of the best teams in the league," Henrik Sedin said. "We've got to make sure that we're playing for 60 minutes. It's been three games in a row now that we've been letting off a little bit for 10 or 20 minutes a game and it's cost us so far."