Radim Vrbata, Boyd Gordon and Kyle Chipchura scored for the Coyotes, three points behind Chicago in the Western Conference standings. Phoenix is in eighth place in the West, two points ahead of Colorado, which lost to St. Louis 3-2 in overtime earlier Saturday.

The Blackhawks lost their eighth straight overall — their longest skid since the 2007-08 season — and 10th in a row on the road. Chicago’s last win was Jan. 20 against Florida.

Smith had 14 NHL shutouts.

After allowing 10 goals in its previous two games, the Blackhawks gave up two in the first 5:58.

Vrbata scored his 26th goal of the season just over 3 minutes into the game. Coming from behind the net, Vrbata’s wraparound deflected off the Chicago’s Sami Lepisto and behind goalie Ray Emery.

Less than 3 minutes later, the Coyotes Gordon, standing just to the right of Emery, slammed in his seventh of the season.

The Blackhawks tested Smith midway through the second period. After taking a shot in the mask from Patrick Sharp, Smith shook off the impact and stopped Jonathan Toews twice in close within seconds.

Chipchura scored midway through the second period.

With a 2-on-1 against Chicago rookie defenseman Dylan Olsen, Chipchura converted a perfect pass from Gilbert Brule into his second goal of the season.

NOTES: In a pregame ceremony, the Coyotes retired Jeremy Roenick’s No. 97. … The standing-room only crowd of 17,353 was the Coyotes’ third sellout of the season. … With two assists, Brule had his second multipoint game since joining Phoenix on Jan. 12. … The Blackhawks were shut out for the sixth time this season.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, Justin Braun and Jamie McGinn also scored to help the Sharks avoid losing three straight games in regulation for the first time since October. Brent Burns added three assists.

Antti Niemi made 30 saves to win for the fifth time in eight starts against Chicago since leaving the Blackhawks for San Jose before last season.

Marcus Kruger scored two goals and Bryan Bickell also scored for the Blackhawks, who have lost seven straight games, including the first five on a nine-game trip. Chicago also has lost nine straight road games.

While the Blackhawks are struggling on their longest trip in 18 years, the Sharks are about embark on a long trip of their own. With a tennis tournament and Disney on Ice coming to San Jose, the Sharks head out on a nine-game trip that begins Sunday in St. Louis.

Ferriero made sure they left town on a winning note when he tipped in a pass from Brad Winchester behind the net for his seventh goal of the season. It’s the fifth time Ferriero has scored to give the Sharks the lead, including three in the third period.

McGinn added a power-play goal with 5:56 remaining, San Jose’s third tally with the man advantage against Corey Crawford.

Chicago had overcome a lackluster start to tie the game earlier in the third when Dave Bolland fed Bickell from behind the net to make it 3-3 just over 2 minutes into the third. But the Blackhawks couldn’t close it out and remained winless on the road since Dec. 14 at Minnesota.

Chicago dominated the second period but still trailed after 40 minutes because of an unfortunate bounce. The Sharks were outshot 17-3 in the period but got the go-ahead goal after nearly botching a 2-on-1 chance. Joe Pavelski missed Patrick Marleau on a pass on the odd-man rush but Thornton came up with the puck. His centering pass to Pavelski hit off rookie defenseman Dylan Olsen’s stick and past Crawford to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead with 4:17 left in the second.

Kruger had tied the game with two goals off rebounds earlier in the period, ending a 15-game goal-scoring drought with his first career multigoal game.

The Sharks got off to a fast start after playing sloppily in losing the previous two games by killing three first-period power plays and converting on two of three chances of their own.

The first came early in the period after Michael Frolik was called for a double-minor high-sticking penalty. Braun quickly converted on his 25th birthday. He rushed in from the point and took a backhand pass from Logan Couture behind the net to score his second goal of the season. The pass extended Couture’s point streak to a career-best eight games.

The Blackhawks were short-handed again later in the period after five players were sent off for roughing following a hit from Thornton on Jonathan Toews near the benches. Boyle, who missed Wednesday’s game with an illness, looked just fine as he knocked in a rebound of Couture’s point shot to make it 2-0.

Notes: The Blackhawks were without two starting defenseman as Steve Montador was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and Niklas Hjalmarsson sat out with an upper-body injury. Olsen was recalled from the AHL and Sami Lepisto played for the first time since Jan. 2. … Two of Braun’s four career goals have come against Chicago.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Patrick Sharp had a pair of goals while Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland also scored for the Blackhawks (29-16-7), who have now lost four straight.

“We really got away from our game plan and opened it up a little and they really made us pay,” Sharp said. “We need to be better in a lot of areas and we’re obviously not happy at all. We’ve gotten away from what makes us a good team.

“We got caught up in scoring goals and playing on the wrong side of the puck. It wasn’t good enough as a team. We need to play defense first and we’ll get out chances from there.”

Early in the game, the Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead. First, six minutes in, Mayers fluttered a long shot from above the circle that fooled Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk.

The Blackhawks kept pouring it on but hit a pair of posts — a long blast from the point by Brent Seabrook and another from in close by Andrew Shaw.

Just 40 seconds into the second period, the Hawks made it 2-0 when Patrick Kane fed it to Sharp, who found a clear lane to beat Dubnyk.

The Oilers responded less than two minutes later as Sam Gagner earned his first point of the night. With a long pass Gagner sprung Taylor Hall, who chipped in his 18th of the year past Hawks goalie Corey Crawford. Hall has scored in three straight games.

Gagner then tied it just over seven minutes later when he picked up his own rebound, circled behind the net, and scored on the wraparound.

The Oilers took a 3-2 lead with seven minutes remaining in the second as Ryan Whitney ripped a shot from the point while on the power play for just his first of the season. Gagner earned the assist.

The Hawks tied it two minutes later on a short-handed 2-on-1 as Dubnyk gave up a rebound to Sharp who buried his second of the night.

Gagner made it 4-3 two minutes into the third with his second goal of the night. Whitney’s shot sailed over the net but bounced in front for Gagner to put past Crawford.

The Oilers chased the Hawks goalie two minutes later when Cam Barker fluttered a shot from the point that Crawford waved at as it went into the top corner. Gagner earned his third assist and Ray Emery replaced Crawford.

The Blackhawks got a goal back six minutes into the third as Bolland made a no-look backhand swat at a puck that squirted past Dubnyk.

Gagner completed the hat trick 30 seconds later to make it 6-4, as Hall spun around and found Gagner streaking for his sixth point of the game.

But he wasn’t done yet.

Hall and Jordan Eberle did terrific tic-tac-toe passing to get Gagner the puck, and he slapped his fourth of the game into a wide-open net as Emery slid to keep up with the play.

With their hats already thrown on to the ice earlier in the period, one fan resorted to throwing a shoe after the goal.

Gagner then added his eighth point of the game by making a prefect feed to Eberle, who scored his 20th of the season with four minutes left.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Morrison, 36, has appeared in 923 career National Hockey League regular-season games over 15 seasons, collecting 200 goals, 601 points and 446 penalty minutes. The Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, native, has spent each of the last two years with the Calgary Flames.

He collected his 200^th career NHL goal Jan. 1 against Nashville and his 600^th career NHL point on Dec. 29 against New Jersey, the Blackhawks said in a news release.

Morrison has reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs nine times during his career, racking up 29 points (8G, 21A) and 40 penalty minutes in 58 postseason tilts.

Connelly, 25, has spent parts of the last four seasons as a member of the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs, tallying 126 points (21G, 105A) in 211 regular-season games. He originally signed with the Blackhawks on June 8, 2009.

Both Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane will play for “Team Chara” -– for team captain Zdeno Chara — under a fantasy draft conducted Thursday evening. Hossa was the seventh player chosen overall; Kane was the 23^rd.

Ex-Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell was also selected for Team Chara.

This is the second straight season the All-Stars are divided in two teams not based on conference or nationality.

Team Alfredsson, led by Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson and his assistant, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, takes on Team Chara, featuring Boston captain Chara and his assistant, forward Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Predators have won seven of their last eight and 10 of 12. Nashville also ended Chicago’s winning streak at three. The Blackhawks had earned points in seven straight games.

Craig Smith and Colin Wilson also scored, and Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for Nashville.

Marian Hossa scored twice for Chicago.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Defenseman Duncan Keith added his first goal in 30 games to help Chicago take the NHL lead, a point ahead of Detroit. The Blackhawks have won three straight and are 5-0-1 in their last six games.

Ray Emery made 18 saves, allowing only Jason Garrison’s power-play goal 43 seconds into the third period.

The Panthers dropped their eighth straight on the road and slipped to 1-3-3 in their last seven overall.

Toews, who leads Chicago with 27 goals, has goals in four straight games and extended his points streak to six games. Kane’s goal was his second in 14 games.

The game started a little over a half-hour late, at 8:08 p.m., because of snow. The announced attendance at the 20,500-seat United Center was 21,555, but about 2,000 seats remained empty.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Jonathan Toews and Viktor Stalberg each had a goal and an assist, and the Blackhawks beat San Jose 4-3 on Sunday night to end Sharks’ eight-game streak with at least a point.

Dave Bolland and rookie Andrew Shaw also scored for Chicago, which improved to 3-0-2 in its last five. Shaw’s goal was his fourth in seven games since being recalled from the AHL.

Toews played at center and Stalberg on left wing on a line with right wing Patrick Kane. The speedy trio took a combined 17 shots and was the most visible on the ice Sunday.

“It was probably the best game we’ve had,” Stalberg said. “We’ve got a little more confidence. … I don’t know if they had a shot against us on a shift, and we had chances every shift.”

The unit is clicking since being assembled by coach Joel Quenneville four games ago.

Stalberg has five goals in his last four games, Toews has two goals and three assists during that stretch and Kane – who has scored just once in his last 13 games – has had two assists.

“They had a great night,” Quenneville said. “They were all going.”

Chicago rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a point in a 3-2 overtime loss at Detroit on Saturday. Toews scored with under a minute left to send that game into the extra period.

On Sunday, the Blackhawks knocked off the hottest team in the West and handed the Sharks their first loss in regulation since Dec. 26. San Jose had won six of seven, and was 6-0-2 in its previous eight.

“Yesterday, we found our legs late in the game,” Toews said. “Coming in tonight, all three of us were working.”

Joe Pavelski, Jamie McGinn and rookie Tommy Wingels scored for the Sharks.

Wingels’ goal late in the third – his first in the NHL – cut it to 4-3. Crawford and the Blackhawks then held on through a Sharks power play in the final 1:07, while Niemi was on the bench for an extra attacker.

And San Jose fell short in trying to steal a point.

“Steal would have been the word,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re not overly flattered with the 4-3 score. It could have easily been a lot worse.

“Their (Chicago’s) big boys had the puck the whole night. They’re a tough enough group to playing against when you’re managing the puck properly, but when you’re turning it over as many times as we did.”

Chicago’s Corey Crawford made 21 saves.

Antti Niemi stopped 36 shots for the Sharks. Niemi, who backstopped the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup title in 2010, has started all seven games between these teams since joining the Sharks last season.

“The first and second star in my mind was Nemo (Niemi),” McLellan said. “He obviously robbed them a number of times.”

Niemi made spectacular saves on Marian Hossa and Kane midway through the first, but he couldn’t hold off the Blackhawks late in the period when Bolland and Stalberg scored 1:38 apart.

Bolland opened the scoring with 1:59 left in the first. After taking Jimmy Hayes’ feed from behind the net, he beat Niemi with a shot from a sharp angle before Niemi could slide across the crease.

Stalberg made it 2-0 with 21 seconds remaining, skating down the slot and redirecting in Toews’ pinpoint feed from the right corner.

The Sharks replied with two quick goals early in the second to tie it when Pavelski and McGinn connected 26 seconds apart.

From traffic in front of the crease, Pavelski tipped in Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s drive from the point at 1:42. McGinn then skated to the net from the right corner and stuffed in a shot from the side of the net at 2:08.

Toews put Chicago back ahead 3-2 at 7:06 with his team-leading 24th goal after Niemi tried to play the puck behind the net. Stalberg beat Niemi to the puck and fed it to Patrick Kane at the left boards. Kane slipped a pass in front to Toews, who swept in a shot while Niemi was trying to get back into position.

Shaw made it 4-2 at 2:37 of the third when he followed through on his own rebound. Niemi stopped Marcus Kruger’s shot from the slot and got a piece of Shaw’s rebound, but Shaw buried the loose puck as it slid toward the goal line.

Wingels swept in a rebound of Dan Boyle’s shot with 4:57 left to cut San Jose’s deficit to 4-3.

NOTES: The Sharks were 10-1-4 since losing 1-0 at St. Louis on Dec. 10. … San Jose rookie C Andrew Desjardins sat out because of an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t played since being hit in the head by Columbus’ Dane Byers early in the second period of the Sharks’ 2-1 win on Saturday. … Chicago LW Patrick Sharp (fractured left wrist) missed his fourth game. … Blackhawks LW Daniel Carcillo is scheduled to have reconstructive knee surgery on Tuesday and will miss the rest of the season.

(© 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

The reliable veteran Bolland had two goals and an assist, and Chicago got two goals 23 seconds apart from rookie Jimmy Hayes and Victor Stalberg in the second period of a 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

“Right now we’re rolling, and it’s a good thing,” said Bolland, who has four goals in three games after scoring just one in the previous 18. “Things are working in the offensive zone, and we’re getting quick outs (from the defensive zone).”

The play of the 6-foot-6 Hayes and fellow rookie Andrew Shaw, who also had a goal Thursday, has helped compensate for the loss of Patrick Sharp, who is out for several weeks because of an injury.

Chicago has won two straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak.

Hayes scored the tiebreaker on the power play in the second, planting himself in the crease and taking a nifty pass from Bolland, who held the puck behind the net.

“Bolland made a great play, and I buried it for him,” Hayes said.

“He’s got a big body and a quick stick,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said of Hayes. “With his hands he was able to make a nice fast play.”

Devin Setoguchi had the game’s first goal for Minnesota, and Kyle Brodziak added a rebound tally in the third period for the Wild.

Stalberg received a pass from Jonathan Toews, and his shot in the slot apparently deflected off goalie Josh Harding’s glove and into the net.

Bolland added another power-play goal off a rebound at 16:27, prompting Wild coach Mike Yeo to pull Harding and replace him with Matt Hackett. Bolland and Hayes also had assists in the second period.

Harding, who had been ill after Tuesday night’s win over San Jose, gave up the four goals on 21 shots. No. 1 goalie Niklas Backstrom was also ill and didn’t play.

“There’s no excuse, none whatsoever. Health had nothing to do with the way I played out there,” Harding said. “It was just one of those nights when I was pretty brutal.”

Chicago backup goalie Ray Emery made 21 saves and improved to 10-3-2.

Shaw tied it in the first with a shot from the left circle that beat a screened Harding at 11:33.

The Wild went up early when Setoguchi, who was a healthy scratch in Minnesota’s previous game Tuesday after he missed a team meeting, scored on a rebound after Emery had stopped a shot from between the circles by Marek Zidlicky.

Harding made a sprawling save on Marian Hossa after a nice cross-ice pass from Bolland, and stopped a fast-breaking Michael Frolik, preserving the tie in the opening period. He finished the first with 11 saves.

But the Wild couldn’t keep up the caliber of play they showed early in the opening period and are 2-9-3 in their last 14 games after a strong start.

“It was there for the first seven minutes and then we started to turn pucks over like crazy,” Yeo said. “Everything we needed to do to win this game we didn’t do.

“We have to play the right way and we have to have everybody. Tonight we didn’t even come close to playing the right way.”

NOTES: Shaw signed a three-year contract Jan. 3, and Hayes was recalled from Rockford of the AHL on Dec. 29. … Attendance on a snowy night was 21,490.

 (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

(CBS) The Blackhawks are off the schneid.  The four-game losing streak–longest of its kind in three years–is history.

Viktor Stalberg and his three goals (his first career hat trick) helped get the Blackhawks back on track with a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets, Tuesday night.

First, no one’s popping champagne.  The Blue Jackets are a terrible, terrible team who just fired their coach and are far from a measuring stick in the NHL.  Still, the Hawks were assessed 42 minutes of penalty time and were on the kill for six of the first twenty.  Finally, battling that kind of adversity meant something.

During the four-game skid, the Hawks had let too many typically momentum building occasions–be they stopped penalty shots, big PK’s, or even successful fights–go by the wayside.  It seemed as though this team, notorious for its fast starts, had stopped noticing when it was supposed to pour it back on.

Hopefully, it’s re-learned some of what was working so well in the first month of the season.

While Viktor Stalberg paced the offense, it was nice to see his rewards come as a function of the top line.  With Patrick Sharp out for three to four weeks, so-called secondary scorers like Stalberg need to become primary ones.  That’s possible when Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane put together top-end shifts.

The Hawks play five out of their next seven at home and need all-hands on deck to help keep ship headed in the right direction.

That ship, meanwhile, nearly sunk early in the first period when Toews was hit in the head by a snapshot from Duncan Keith.

The puck first hit a Jackets’ defender, then plugged Toews in the helmet just above his left eyebrow, then clanged off the goalpost.

“It’s one of those thing,” Toews joked after the game. ” It hits me in the face and still doesn’t go in.  I can’t get the bounces.”

By a very unofficial and non-medical count, Toews had 14 or 15 stitches split between two cuts above his left eyebrow.  The swelling didn’t seem too bad. You know, considering he’d been pelted by frozen, vulcanized rubber at something like 70 mph about an hour earlier.

One way or another, he looks every bit the old-time hockey player.

Pavel Datsyuk banked in a shot from a bad angle off Chicago defenseman Nick Leddy for the winning goal 3:08 into overtime, and the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Sunday night.

After Corey Crawford made point-blank saves on Jonathan Ericsson and Johan Franzen, Datsyuk got to the loose puck along the goal line to the goalie’s left. He whiffed once and then snapped a rising shot that hit Leddy and bounded into the open upper portion of the net as Crawford was down in the crease.

Detroit’s Dan Cleary scored with 4:45 left in regulation to tie it at 2 after Henrik Zetterberg fired a loose puck into traffic in front.

Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Red Wings, who fell behind 2-0 early in the first when Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp scored 44 seconds apart.

“We showed a lot of character,” said Detroit backup Ty Conklin, who made 29 saves. “It could have been easy to quit, I guess, or not pull it out like we did.

“We worked ourselves back into last night’s game, too. This was a good win.”

The Red Wings were coming off a 4-3 loss in Toronto on Saturday. Detroit rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie it, but lost after Joffrey Lupul scored late following a Red Wings turnover.

“The way we had to play (Saturday) night, I didn’t think we’d have much energy (Sunday) — and we sure didn’t early,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “Our guys stayed with it and dug in. This is a big win for us.”

Conklin was sharp in his sixth start of the season and first win since beating Colorado 3-0 on Oct. 8.

He stopped a penalty shot by Chicago rookie Jimmy Hayes, playing in his fifth NHL game, at 7:53 of the third. It was awarded after Detroit forward Tomas Holmstrom covered a loose puck in the crease as it slid toward the goal line from a scrum.

Detroit’s comeback sent Chicago to a season-high fourth straight loss. Crawford made 24 saves for the Blackhawks, who lost for the fifth time in six games following a 9-1-1 run.

“It’s been a tough stretch for us the last couple games,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. “We played better. We were more deserving of two points, we just didn’t find a way to close it out.

“It’s tough to protect a one-goal lead for as long as we did. You’ve just got to be smart and try to limit mistakes against that team. They found a way.”

Sharp, who scored his 20th goal, sustained an undisclosed upper body injury late in the first period and didn’t return.

“We’re going to have some tests with him, know more (Monday),” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Central Division and Original Six rivals met for the second time in nine days. The Blackhawks beat Detroit 3-2 on Dec. 30 in Chicago.

After Marian Hossa’s drive from the point hit traffic and landed in the slot, Bolland fired the loose puck and got it to trickle in under Conklin’s right pad. Sharp made it 2-0 at 4:19 when the puck popped out to him in the left circle from a scrum behind the net, and he turned and fired.

Filppula’s power-play goal with 6:31 left in the first cut it to 2-1, 3 seconds after a two-man Detroit advantage became a 5-on-4. He ripped a shot into the open net from the left edge of the crease after taking a pinpoint cross-ice feed from Zetterberg.

NOTES: Blackhawks D Sean O’Donnell played in his 1,200th NHL game. … Chicago D Steve Montador returned after missing three games because of an upper body injury. The Blackhawks returned rookie D Dylan Olsen to Rockford of the AHL. … Chicago LW Daniel Carcillo sat out the third game of a seven-game suspension for a hit on Edmonton D Tom Gilbert on Monday. Carcillo injured a knee on the play and might be out longer than the suspension. … Detroit C Darren Helm returned after missing four games with a lower body injury. Holmstrom came back following a five-game absence because of a groin injury.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Brent Seabrook and Patrick Kane scored 25 seconds apart late in the third period to tie it, but van Riemsdyk made sure the Flyers shook off the disappointment from their Winter Classic loss.

Scott Hartnell, Harry Zolnierczyk and van Riemsdyk scored goals in a span of 4:20 in the second period, and Jakub Voracek also scored for the Flyers against Ray Emery in his first game back in Philadelphia.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 30 saves to earn his first win since Dec. 13.

Claude Giroux set up van Riemsdyk’s winning goal with a perfect pass to Hartnell, who slid the puck across the crease to his new linemate. Van Riemsdyk, filling in for injured Jaromir Jagr on the top line, shot it into an open net to give the Flyers a 5-4 lead.

Jimmy Hayes and Andrew Shaw also scored for Chicago. It was the Blackhawks’ first game in Philadelphia since skating off the ice with the Stanley Cup after their overtime victory in Game 6 of the finals on June 9, 2010.

Coming off a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic across the street at Citizens Bank Park, the Flyers started slow and didn’t score until the final minute of the first period.

Braydon Coburn’s slap shot from the point sailed wide of the net and ricocheted off the boards to Voracek, who wristed it in from the left circle.

The Blackhawks went up 1-0 when Hayes scored following a turnover by Zac Rinaldo in Philadelphia’s zone. Rinaldo’s clearing attempt went to Jamal Mayers, who sent a shot toward the net. Hayes redirected it past Bryzgalov.

Rinaldo made up for his gaffe right after the ensuing faceoff. The rookie enforcer took on Shaw, giving the youngster a tough introduction in his NHL debut. Rinaldo’s first punch opened a huge gash above Shaw’s left eye and blood squirted onto the ice.

Shaw wiped off the blood from the fight and showed off his offensive skills in the second period, giving the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead. He skated in from behind the net, made a nifty move around Kimmo Timonen and backhanded a shot past Bryzgalov.

But the Flyers answered quickly.

Hartnell’s tying goal came 17 seconds later. Hartnell swatted a behind-the-net pass from Giroux past Emery for his 18th goal.

Zolnierczyk scored the go-ahead goal off a rebound of Sean Couturier’s shot, and Van Riemsdyk also put in a rebound 23 seconds later for a 4-2 lead.

Van Riemsdyk moved up from the fourth line to the top line to replace Jagr, who injured his left calf against the Rangers.

Seconds after Hartnell’s deflection hit the post, Seabrook got the Blackhawks within 4-3. His wrist shot fluttered above Bryzgalov’s right shoulder.

A turnover by Marc-Andre Bourdon set up Kane’s tying goal. Bourdon’s clearing pass went to Jonathan Toews. Kane then blasted a shot from the slot just under the crossbar. An angry Bourdon smashed his stick across the net, breaking it into two pieces.

Bryzgalov, who signed a nine-year, $51 million contract in June, didn’t start the last two games and wasn’t disappointed about watching the Classic from the bench. He even told reporters that Sergei Bobrovsky gave the Flyers a better chance to win. They blew a 2-0 lead against the Rangers.

Bryzgalov wore new pads, a brown leather pair reminiscent of the ones former Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh used. Lindbergh died in a car accident in November 1985, a few months after winning the Vezina Trophy.

Emery got a second chance in the NHL two years ago with the Flyers, but his stint in Philadelphia ended prematurely. He had hip surgery and missed the Flyers’ run to the Cup finals.

Notes: This was the only meeting between the teams this regular season. … The Flyers have won nine straight regular-season games at home against the Blackhawks. Chicago’s last win was Nov. 9, 2006. … Giroux has 19 points in his last 11 games.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Carcillo was given the large ban Wednesday, two nights after he sent Gilbert into the boards in the second period of the Blackhawks’ 4-3 home victory over the Oilers. Carcillo was given a major penalty for boarding and was ejected from the game.

Gilbert suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury and didn’t play in Edmonton’s 4-3 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Carcillo’s hit on Gilbert was not intended to be dirty.

“It’s a quick moment when you’re going for a counter-hit when you’re fighting for a puck, and he probably had better leverage than the other guy,” Quenneville said. “His intent certainly wasn’t what happened.”

Carcillo, suspended in October for two games for an illegal check against Carolina defenseman Joni Pitkanen, was treated as a repeat offender. He will lose $66,158 in salary after forfeiting $8,378 for the earlier ban.

He will be eligible to return Jan. 18 when the Blackhawks host Buffalo.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

by Greg Wahl

The Chicago area has a wealth of writerly and publishing talent producing a steady stream of new volumes. If you haven’t yet burned through those Barnes & Noble and Amazon gift cards from the holidays, consider directing your book browsing to the city’s literary scene and some of the latest Chicago-related offerings from the publishing world. Here is a selection of eight current releases to consider adding to the “local” section of your personal library.

(credit: press.uchicago.edu)

Chicago: City on the Make (Sixtieth Anniversary Edition)

by Nelson Algren

$17.00, University Of Chicago Press
press.uchicago.edu

Yes, it’s a 60-year-old book, but this gritty Chicago classic gets a good dusting off with the addition of historic Chicago photos and other updates. If you’ve not yet read this book, the anniversary edition makes for a great starter copy, with new reader-friendly annotations on obscure slang terms and references to local events of the day that help to reveal with greater clarity the beauty and brutality of Algren’s Chicago at midcentury.

(credit: triumphbooks.com)

Forever a Blackhawk

by Stan Mikita, with Bob Verdi

$26.95, Triumph Books
triumphbooks.com

Printer’s Row-based Triumph Books is the country’s largest publisher of sports books. Their latest Chicago-related title celebrates the life and exemplary athletic career of beloved Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita. The autobiography traces Mikita’s life from his youth in Czechoslovakia to being adopted by his aunt and uncle in Canada, earning a championship ring in 1961, induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, and his current role as goodwill ambassador to the Blackhawks.

(credit: press.uchicago.edu)

Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect

by Robert J. Sampson

$27.50, University Of Chicago Press
press.uchicago.edu

Due to be released on February 3, this book combines author Robert Sampson’s personal observations and monumental social science research to show the far-reaching influence that neighborhoods and communities have over individual behavior. From Cabrini Green to Trump Tower, studies of a variety of Chicago areas reveal the powerful impact of “place” upon social phenomena such as crime, health, and immigration.

(credit: press.uchicago.edu)

Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab

by Dmitry Samarov

$20.00, University of Chicago Press
press.uchicago.edu

No one sees the city quite like a cab driver does, and Dmitry Samarov eloquently presents a variety of fascinating city life snapshots in his first book, recently published by U of C Press. A visual artist and graduate of the School of the Art Institute (prior to becoming a full-time cab driver), Samarov combines humor and humanity to vividly render the city and its people in a manner reminiscent of Studs Terkel.

(credit: press.uchicago.edu)

Henry Ives Cobb’s Chicago: Architecture, Institutions, and the Making of a Modern Metropolis

by Edward D. Wolner

$45.00, University of Chicago Press
press.uchicago.edu

Fans of Chicago architecture will find a lot to admire in Edward Wolner’s new profile of the life and work of Henry Ives Cobb. At age 22, Cobb won a competition to design the Union Club of Chicago, and many of the club’s members tapped Cobb’s architecture talents to help rebuild the city after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. While many of his buildings have been demolished, several still stand, such as the Newberry Library and the Chicago Athletic Association. Over 140 images are collected here, along with portraits of many of the city’s colorful characters of the period.

(credit: featherproof.com)

The Karaoke Singer’s Guide to Self-Defense

by Tim Kinsella

$14.95, Featherproof Books
featherproof.com

Tim Kinsella may be better known as a local musician, having fronted bands such as Cap’n Jazz and Joan of Arc, but he also found time in between tours to earn his MFA in creative writing from the SAIC, and has published his work in various magazines. His first novel, The Karaoke Singer’s Guide to Self-Defense, was released in October by Chicago-based publishers Featherproof Books. The dream-like narrative reveals the dark secrets of three siblings gathering for a funeral.

(credit: hachettebookgroup.com)

Queen of America

by Luis Alberto Urrea

$25.99, Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group
hachettebookgroup.com

Naperville resident Luis Alberto Urrea is a professor of creative writing at UIC, and has published several acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction. His latest book, Queen of America, is a historical novel, and the sequel to 2005’s The Hummingbird’s Daughter. For both books, Urrea spent nearly 20 years researching his family history to tell the story of his great aunt, Teresita Urrea, who was known as “The Saint of Cabora” and “The Mexican Joan of Arc.”

(credit: powerhousebooks.com)

Vivian Maier: Street Photographer

Ed. by John Maloof

$39.95, powerHouse Books
powerhousebooks.com

Vivian Maier was an amateur street photographer who took over 100,000 photographs throughout her life, most of which capture candid scenes of life in Chicago from the 1950s onward. Maier was a secretive woman who worked primarily as a nanny for various families on the North Shore (including a year spent working for Phil Donohue). Her photographs were “discovered” by a twenty-something real estate agent who had purchased the negatives at an auction in Portage Park in 2007, and this volume presents an impressive cross-section of Maier’s images from the collection.

(credit: Rob Funderburk)

Editor’s Picks

Yes, it is me, the editor. I’m here to ruin Greg’s article by including a few recent and notable releases from some great Chicago fiction writers. So here we go!

Chicago Stories
by Michael Czyzniejewski
Curbside Splendor
www.curbsidesplendor.com

Told from the fictional point-of-view of forty famous Chicagoans, Michael Czyzniejewski’s forthcoming book will create a full picture of Chicago through this nice collection of wonderfully told vignettes. This collection is made even better with great art from Chicago’s own Rob Funderburk.

Piano Rats
by Franki Elliot
Curbside Splendor
www.curbsidesplendor.com

Also published by Logan Square’s Curbside Splendor, Piano Rats is a wonderful, little collection that tells a surprisingly full story through a series of poems.

My Father’s House
by Ben Tanzer
Main Street Rag
www.mainstreetrag.com

A book about grief, among many, many other things, My Father’s House is composed of lightning-quick moments that jolt you from chapter to chapter. Ben Tanzer is one of Chicago’s most prolific writers you probably haven’t heard of, why not make his acquaintance with this great novella?

Everyone Remain Calm
by Megan Stielstra
ECW Press
www.ecwpress.com

Those who know of Chicago author Megan Stielstra are probably more aware of her 2nd Story readings: amazing theatrical readings that are usually held at Webster’s Wine bar. Check them out. Megan’s performances are intense, composed of a powerful cadence of speech and strong storytelling you won’t find anywhere else. Somehow she has bottled the presence of her performances and sprinkled a little bit on each story contained within Everyone Remain Calm. Each story has a presence that is similar to the intense Megan Stielstra sitting a few feet away from you on a stage telling you a really good story. So check it out.

Everyone agreed it was a crucial play.

Ryan Smyth and Taylor Hall scored power-play goals after Carcillo was ejected in the second period, and the Oilers held on for a 4-3 victory over Chicago on Monday night.

Jordan Eberle had two assists for the Oilers, including a perfect backhand pass to Andy Sutton for the tiebreaking score in the second. Former Blackhawks forward Ben Eager added an insurance goal in the third as Edmonton snapped a three-game slide.

“That’s the way we played at the start of the year,” Sutton said. “I don’t know what’s so complicated about playing that way. Just don’t turn the puck over. We were tenacious on the puck and the results speak for themselves.”

The Oilers trailed 1-0 when Carcillo launched Tom Gilbert into the boards 7:23 into the second, resulting in a major boarding penalty and a game misconduct.

“I think the hit speaks for itself and the penalty does as well,” Renney said. “At least to this point it’s been addressed and I hope it will be looked into even further.”

Gilbert had a step on Carcillo when the well-known agitator pushed the defenseman, sending him into the air and into the boards behind the Edmonton goal. Both went down after the vicious hit and had to be helped off the ice.

“I can hear the ref screaming from the other corner to be careful, to lay up on him, and he comes in contact and throws him off balance 5 feet from the boards,” Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk said. “I mean, that’s got to be one of the most dangerous plays in hockey for sure, and both guys end up injured out of it.”

Gilbert left with a lower-body injury. The Oilers also lost prized rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to an upper-body injury earlier in the game, and Renney said he wasn’t sure when either player would return to the ice.

Carcillo appeared to be favoring his left leg when he was helped off.

“I’m not going to argue the call,” Quenneville said. “He beat him to the counter-hit. It wasn’t intent. Both guys went for the same type of a play and he beat him, had better position on the guy. It’s unfortunate what happened.”

Jonathan Toews, Andrew Brunette and Jimmy Hayes scored for Chicago, which had won three of four and 10 of 13. The Blackhawks were looking to avenge a 9-2 loss at Edmonton in their previous meeting Nov. 19, but were hurt by Carcillo’s costly penalty in the second.

“Not happy, that’s for sure,” Chicago star Patrick Kane said. “It’s a team we should beat. Giving up two on the 5-minute penalty kill changed the momentum of the game. But we still shouldn’t (have) lost to a team like that.”

Hayes’ first career goal in his second game trimmed Edmonton’s lead to 4-3 with 3:49 left. The Blackhawks then got a power-play opportunity when Ryan Jones was sent off for goalie interference, but Dubnyk made a couple of big stops to preserve the victory.

Dubnyk finished with 39 saves. Corey Crawford had 26 stops for Chicago.

“It’s one where we think we should have gotten points out of,” Crawford said. “It didn’t happen.”

Smyth tied it at 1 just 16 seconds into the 5-minute power play, whacking the puck in from the right post for his 15th goal.

Edmonton then caught a break when Hall appeared to knock down Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson with a stick to the face minutes later. Hjalmarsson appeared to be disoriented while he scrambled to find his stick, and Hall skated to his side and beat Crawford to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead with 9 minutes left in the period.

Hjalmarsson got a measure of revenge when his slap shot from just inside the blue line was tipped in by Brunette at 12:39, but the Oilers went in front again 4 minutes later. Eberle made a nice move to find a wide-open Sutton, whose shot from right in front of the goal went into the upper left corner for his second goal.

Chicago dropped to 14-1-1 when scoring first. It also was the fourth regulation home loss for the Blackhawks this season.

The Blackhawks struck first during an evenly played first period. Carcillo stole an Edmonton pass just outside the blue line in the Oilers’ end and fed Toews, who slid the puck past a screened Dubnyk for his team-leading 22nd goal at 12:54.

Jones had a breakaway opportunity late in the period, but Crawford made a pad save to keep Chicago in front.

NOTES: Nugent-Hopkins, the top overall pick in last year’s draft, began the day leading NHL rookies with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists). … The Blackhawks signed first-round draft picks Mark McNeil and Phillip Danault, announcing the three-year deals with the 18-year-old centers before the game. McNeil was the 18th selection in last year’s NHL entry draft, and Danault was the No. 26 pick. … Blackhawks D Steve Montador was scratched with an upper-body injury. He had played in every game this season.CHICAGO (AP) — Edmonton coach Tom Renney hopes the NHL will take a close look at Daniel Carcillo’s nasty boarding penalty. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville made it sound like an accident.

Everyone agreed it was a crucial play.

Ryan Smyth and Taylor Hall scored power-play goals after Carcillo was ejected in the second period, and the Oilers held on for a 4-3 victory over Chicago on Monday night.

Jordan Eberle had two assists for the Oilers, including a perfect backhand pass to Andy Sutton for the tiebreaking score in the second. Former Blackhawks forward Ben Eager added an insurance goal in the third as Edmonton snapped a three-game slide.

“That’s the way we played at the start of the year,” Sutton said. “I don’t know what’s so complicated about playing that way. Just don’t turn the puck over. We were tenacious on the puck and the results speak for themselves.”

The Oilers trailed 1-0 when Carcillo launched Tom Gilbert into the boards 7:23 into the second, resulting in a major boarding penalty and a game misconduct.

“I think the hit speaks for itself and the penalty does as well,” Renney said. “At least to this point it’s been addressed and I hope it will be looked into even further.”

Gilbert had a step on Carcillo when the well-known agitator pushed the defenseman, sending him into the air and into the boards behind the Edmonton goal. Both went down after the vicious hit and had to be helped off the ice.

“I can hear the ref screaming from the other corner to be careful, to lay up on him, and he comes in contact and throws him off balance 5 feet from the boards,” Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk said. “I mean, that’s got to be one of the most dangerous plays in hockey for sure, and both guys end up injured out of it.”

Gilbert left with a lower-body injury. The Oilers also lost prized rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to an upper-body injury earlier in the game, and Renney said he wasn’t sure when either player would return to the ice.

Carcillo appeared to be favoring his left leg when he was helped off.

“I’m not going to argue the call,” Quenneville said. “He beat him to the counter-hit. It wasn’t intent. Both guys went for the same type of a play and he beat him, had better position on the guy. It’s unfortunate what happened.”

Jonathan Toews, Andrew Brunette and Jimmy Hayes scored for Chicago, which had won three of four and 10 of 13. The Blackhawks were looking to avenge a 9-2 loss at Edmonton in their previous meeting Nov. 19, but were hurt by Carcillo’s costly penalty in the second.

“Not happy, that’s for sure,” Chicago star Patrick Kane said. “It’s a team we should beat. Giving up two on the 5-minute penalty kill changed the momentum of the game. But we still shouldn’t (have) lost to a team like that.”

Hayes’ first career goal in his second game trimmed Edmonton’s lead to 4-3 with 3:49 left. The Blackhawks then got a power-play opportunity when Ryan Jones was sent off for goalie interference, but Dubnyk made a couple of big stops to preserve the victory.

Dubnyk finished with 39 saves. Corey Crawford had 26 stops for Chicago.

“It’s one where we think we should have gotten points out of,” Crawford said. “It didn’t happen.”

Smyth tied it at 1 just 16 seconds into the 5-minute power play, whacking the puck in from the right post for his 15th goal.

Edmonton then caught a break when Hall appeared to knock down Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson with a stick to the face minutes later. Hjalmarsson appeared to be disoriented while he scrambled to find his stick, and Hall skated to his side and beat Crawford to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead with 9 minutes left in the period.

Hjalmarsson got a measure of revenge when his slap shot from just inside the blue line was tipped in by Brunette at 12:39, but the Oilers went in front again 4 minutes later. Eberle made a nice move to find a wide-open Sutton, whose shot from right in front of the goal went into the upper left corner for his second goal.

Chicago dropped to 14-1-1 when scoring first. It also was the fourth regulation home loss for the Blackhawks this season.

The Blackhawks struck first during an evenly played first period. Carcillo stole an Edmonton pass just outside the blue line in the Oilers’ end and fed Toews, who slid the puck past a screened Dubnyk for his team-leading 22nd goal at 12:54.

Jones had a breakaway opportunity late in the period, but Crawford made a pad save to keep Chicago in front.

NOTES: Nugent-Hopkins, the top overall pick in last year’s draft, began the day leading NHL rookies with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists). … The Blackhawks signed first-round draft picks Mark McNeil and Phillip Danault, announcing the three-year deals with the 18-year-old centers before the game. McNeil was the 18th selection in last year’s NHL entry draft, and Danault was the No. 26 pick. … Blackhawks D Steve Montador was scratched with an upper-body injury. He had played in every game this season.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist, and Patrick Sharp also connected for the Blackhawks, who are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games and lead the NHL with 50 points.

Crawford lost a bid for his first shutout this season when Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski scored at 3:09 of the third period. Crawford was sharp, especially early on, in his second straight start following a string of six consecutive starts by backup Ray Emery.

Steve Mason blocked 18 shots for Columbus, which lost its fifth straight and has yet to win in regulation on the road this season. The Blue Jackets have a league-worst 22 points.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

UNITED CENTER (CBS) We’ve hit the Christmas Break and it’s time to assess just where the Blackhawks are after 35 games.

As for the team, with the 5-1 win over the Canadiens, the record sits at 22-9-4 and their 48 points lead the league.  Further, their 3.26 goals per game average is good for fifth in the league while a 2.83 goals against average is seventeenth.

Lighting the lamp hasn’t been a problem for the Hawks this year. Keeping the puck out of the twine has been shaky at times but it hasn’t exactly been on the goaltending.

While Ray Emery certainly stepped in and solidified the position for a stretch (Emery went 5-1-0 in a stretch of 6 straight starts from Dec.2-20, Corey Crawford hasn’t looked disastrous—just in need of a little help.

Looking at the numbers on special teams might be deceiving—might be.  While the Power Play clocks in at 8^th in the league with a 19.5% success rate, the Penalty Kill is brutal.  A 77.9% kill rate is good for just 27^th in the league.

Granted, the Hawks had a span of 21 straight kills during their 5-game win streak, so it may be getting better.  Still it has to be an area of concern for the Joel Quenneville and staff.

Some odds and ends team-wise:  The Hawks are first in the league in win-percentage when they score first (.929).  They’re 8^th when they give up the first goal (.429).  They’re also 4^th best in the league on the draw (52.3) and it’s fair to wonder if Brandon Pirri—who played his first game of the year with the team Wednesday night and was 10-18 in the circle—sticks around for a while.

Individually, the Hawks have some solid seasons in the making.  It’s no secret that Jonathan Toews (20g, 17a, +13) is having a stellar, MVP-type season.  He’s tied for the league lead in goals at 20 (Steven Stamkos also has 20), his 37 total points stacks up just fine against the league leaders, too.  At this pace, his season projects to about 46 goals and 39 assists. Factor in what he does on the PK as a two-way forward and you’ve got a serious contender.

Patrick Sharp is proving over and over why Stan Bowman refused to trade him in the offseason following the Stanley Cup win and then inked him to an extension.  Sharp (18g, 18a, +17) projects out to a 42 goal, 42 assist season.  Solid numbers, to be sure, but Sharp can get seriously hot at times.  This just might be a season he can hit 50 in one of those categories.

Marian Hossa (15g, 23a, +21) is the next forward to amass something close to jaw-dropping.  His numbers project to 35 goals and 53 assists—firmly within career norms for him.

Patrick Kane has made highlight reels this year, but more so for his play-making ability than putting the puck in the net.  With just 9 goals on the year compared to 25 assists, it’s not been the greatest of starts for Kane despite his plus-11 rating.  His pace projects out to 21 goals and 77 assists but, like Sharp, Kane can collect in bucket-loads at times.

The Hawks could have six players (Toews, Sharp, Hossa, Kane, Andrew Brunette and Dave Bolland) near the 20-goal plateau—seven if Viktor Stalberg (two goals in his last two games) picks up the pace a bit.

What’s left is finding a solution for the penalty kill and for Joel Quenneville to decide whether Crawford or Emery is the best fit for the team.

He’ll have four days and a Christmas Dinner to think it over.

“He seemed not bad after the game. Looked [like keeping him out of the game was] more precautionary,” Joel Quenneville said.  “We’ll find out more tomorrow.”

While it’s guesswork to say Seabrook was concussed on the play, it’s not exactly a leap to put it in the conversation.  Worse, Seabrook has a history of concussions—three if you buy the team’s record keeping.

One came from a knee to the head ’09.  Another when then-Ducks Defenseman James Wiseniewski torpedoed and Seabrook seemed out cold on his skates (You can find the video here: http://tinyurl.com/7d94twa Note the Ducks’ announcers questioning whether Seabrook was faking it.  Unreal.  Seabrook missed a pair of games after). One more when Vancouver’s favorite goon, Raffi Torres, took a cheap shot in last season’s playoffs.

Quite the history.

If we’ve seen anything in the NHL this year, it’s a rise in concussions.  With 20+ players missing time with concussions or symptoms thereof, it’s tough to miss.

“It comes down to respect,” Jonathan Toews said.  “You hit guys when it’s a clean situation.  Head shots and head injuries aren’t going anywhere if we’re going to keep making plays like that.  And that goes for everybody around the entire league.”

The Hawks went 2-3 in the five games they played without Seabrook this season.  That stretch came after Seabrook lost an edge, slid into the boards and came out with the dreaded “lower body injury.”

The fortunate thing in this is timing.  The Hawks head to Pittsburgh on the 20^th and host the Canadiens on the 21^st but then it’s five days off for the Christmas break. Play resumes the 26^th with a home date against the Blue Jackets.

What’s more to worry about is Seabrook’s long-term health.  A history of concussions only makes things worse as more are suffered.  Just look to the Blackhawks’ next opponent, the Penguins, to see how devastating concussions can be to the future of a player and organization. Exhibits A and B: http://tinyurl.com/446qeky http://tinyurl.com/74z8mcy

HIDDEN ‘STACHE:

Sunday night’s 4-2 win over the Flames marked Joel Quenneville’s 600^th NHL win.  He’s the second fastest coach to reach 600.  Scotty Bowman did it in 1,002 games; Quenneville took 1,114 games.

He’s got some work to do to be considered legendary, but maybe this tale from Kim Jong Il’s days as a pro golfer will help to inspire.  tinyurl.com/7f33372

Steve Montador, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Patrick Kane also scored for the Blackhawks, who got 22 saves from Ray Emery.

Chicago vaulted past Minnesota into first place in the NHL standings with a league-leading 46 points. The Blackhawks are 7-0-1 in their last eight games.

Calgary’s Olli Jokinen and Curtis Glencross scored power-play goals in the third period, and both had an assist. Miikka Kiprusoff made 21 saves.

Emery, who has taken over for struggling No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, started and won for the fifth straight game while improving to 9-1-2 overall. He has played in seven straight, including six starts.

Team members presented the hockey puck to Quennenville after the game to help recognize the 600th victory for him.

“I just told them what it means is I’m getting old,” the coach joked.

Asked about how the 600^th win felt, he replied: “They all feel good – nothing better than winning.”

 (© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland also scored for Chicago, which moved into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks, 6-0-1 in their last seven, and the Wild both have 44 points.

Emery lost a bid for his first shutout in nearly two years when Teemu Selanne scored with 1:47 left in the third period.

Emery, who has taken over for struggling No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, started and won for the fourth straight game. He has played in six straight, including five starts.

Crawford hasn’t played since a start on Dec. 5 against Phoenix when he was pulled early in the second period after allowing three goals on 16 shots.

Sharp extended his point streak to eight games, a span in which he has seven goals and five assists.

Jonas Hiller made 20 saves for the Ducks, who are 2-4-1 under new coach Bruce Boudreau and 14th in the 15-team Western Conference.

Emery’s last shutout was on Feb 1, 2010, while with Philadelphia. In April 2010, he underwent hip surgery that nearly ended his career.

Emery, who came back to lead Anaheim into the playoffs last spring, faced his old team for the first time since signing as a free agent with Chicago just before the start of this season.

He wasn’t heavily tested on Friday by the listless Ducks, who generated little offense in their first stop on a five-game road trip. Anaheim won’t play at home until Dec. 29.

Mayers scored the only goal of the first period 6:37 in when he surprised Hiller with a backhand attempt from the right side of the net. Mayer lofted the puck from a sharp angle, and it struck Hiller’s arm and found its way into the net.

Hossa made it 2-0 just 1:07 into the second when he was left open in the slot. Sharp slid the puck to Hossa, who swept a backhanded shot between Hiller’s pads.

Bolland’s power-play goal with 2:51 left in the second made it 3-0.

Defenseman Nick Leddy carried the puck deep into the Anaheim zone along the left wing boards, then dished to Bolland who was open in the high slot. Bolland fired the puck through traffic and past Hiller.

Sharp made it 4-0 midway through the third with his 17th of the season. He beat Hiller with a high shot from the slot after slipping through a pack of defenders.

Selanne wrecked Emery’s shutout bid when he was left alone at the right side of the net and scored off a cross-crease pass from Niklas Hagman.

NOTES: Emery improved to 8-1-2 this season. … Anaheim C Saku Koivu missed his third game because of a groin injury. Chicago LW Dan Carcillo sat out because of an undisclosed upper body injury. Both players are day-to-day.

 (© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Last night, Ray Emery made his third consecutive start for the Blackhawks.  He won…again.  So now, for the 4th straight season, it appears the Hawks have a goalie controversy.

In 08-09, it was Khabibulin vs Huet.

In 09-10, it was Huet vs Niemi.

In 10-11, it was Turco vs Crawford.

Now, we have Emery vs Crawford.

But I think this year is different.  Let’s call this a goaltending luxury instead.  Controversy denotes that something is wrong.  It can’t be denied that Crawford has had a few below average games, but he’s the Hawks’ goalie long term, and should be.  Both goalies are good enough to be starters.  That was not the case in years past.  The backups were brought in because Huet, or Turco, or whoever just couldn’t play anymore.  The Hawks had no choice, and were fortunate to have NHL ready backups.

For the rest of this column from the Red Light District, click here.

CHICAGO (CBS) Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Ray Emery helped the Blackhawks salvage a point Monday night.  Although the final read, 4-3 Coyotes in a shootout, it could have been much worse.

After the Blackhawks morning skate, Patrick Kane remarked on the need to hop out to a lead against a Coyotes team that put a 4-1 drubbing on his squad just six days prior.  That fast start never came.

Instead, Raffi Torres and Mikkel Boedker put Phoenix up 1-0 just 2:35 into the first.  It was a 2-on-1 play that may have been a little fluky.  Still, had the Hawks been able to clear the zone and establish a serious possession, it doesn’t happen.

As the Hawks battled boos and momentum, the Hawks slogged into the second period only to find themselves down 3-0 and watching Corey Crawford head to the bench.  While Crawford certainly wasn’t good (3 goals against just 16 shots) he may have been more a victim of circumstance than bad.  Toews said as much afterward explaining that the team needed to help Crawford by clearing pucks and entering the offensive zone with some authority.

Toews seemed determined to do just that–at least, after Crawford left the ice.

With two goals in a little over seven minutes–and some dominating shifts in between–Toews cut the lead to one and put himself on top of the NHL goal scorers list with 17.

Toews helped tie the game with nearly 6 minutes to play on a dynamite assist to Kane.  The play was frighteningly slick and underscored why Joel Quenneville puts that pair together when he needs a goal.

Despite eking out a point from a disastrous start, the Hawks were, essentially, ticked off after the game.  While most admitted there’s some solace in the comeback, it’s equally true to say that after seizing momentum in their building with 26 minutes to play, a 3-3 game should turn into two points.

Vrbata also scored in regulation for Phoenix, which had lost two games following a 4-1 victory over the Blackhawks last Tuesday. Smith finished with 32 saves through overtime.

Ekman-Larsson went first in the shootout and beat Ray Emery into the right side of the net. After Toews failed to stuff the puck in at the left post, Vrbata converted a backhander. Smith denied Hossa to give the Coyotes the victory.

The puck trickled in after Smith made the save on Hossa, but the referee ruled he had already stopped the shootout chance.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Hossa scored on a power play and short-handed for his first multigoal game of the season. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Michael Frolik also scored to help Chicago win for the fourth time in five games. The Blackhawks were coming off a 5-4 shootout victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night in Chicago.

David Perron, returning after missing 97 games because of a concussion, and Chris Stewart scored for St. Louis. The Blues lost for the second time in two nights.

Elliott fell to 10-2 and had a six-game winning streak snapped. He hadn’t allowed more than two goals in his 11 starts, had stopped 239 of his previous 249 shots and came into the game leading the NHL in goals- against average (1.31) and save percentage (.951).

Chicago goalie Ray Emery outplayed Elliott, making 23 saves. Emery improved to 4-1-1 with his third career win over St. Louis in three starts.

The Blackhawks scored three straight goals to erase a 2-1 deficit.

Sharp broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal late in the second period. He has 13 goals, including eight in the last nine games.

Hossa, who has 11 goals, tied it at 2 with the Blackhawks’ fourth short-handed goal of the season. He added a power-play goal 1:17 into the final period.

Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith had two assists each, and Frolik scored an empty-net goal.

Perron scored 6:51 into the game on his third shift. He was sidelined by concussion-like symptoms after a high hit by San Jose’s Joe Thornton on Nov. 4, 2010.

St. Louis fell to 8-2-3 under coach Ken Hitchcock.

NOTES: The game was the second of six meetings between the teams this season. … St. Louis has at least one point in 11 of its last 13 games. … The Blues beat Chicago 3-0 on Nov. 8 in Hitchcock’s first game in St. Louis. The Blues have 19 of a possible 26 points under Hitchcock. … Chicago improved to 8-6-1 on the road.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews netted the only goal in the shootout, after posting a short-handed goal and assist in regulation, and the Chicago Blackhawksoutlasted the New York Islanders 5-4 on Friday night.

Corey Crawford stopped New York’s Frans Nielsen and Nino Niederreiter in the shootout. Matt Moulson, the final Islanders shooter, hit the post to end the game.

Andrew Brunette, rookie Ben Smith and Patrick Sharp also scored for the Blackhawks, who overcame a sluggish start and defensive breakdowns.

Niederreiter, a 19-year-old rookie, scored his first goal of the season midway through the third period to tie the game at 4. His low, 35-foot shot from the slot beat Crawford on the stick side for his second NHL goal.

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I’ll admit that I had my concerns over Leddy taking a big role in the Blackhawks plans this season.  It’s not that I didn’t think he had talent–he clearly does.  It’s not that I didn’t think he had potential–he’s got more of that than maybe anything.  What I didn’t think he had was the seasoning to make enough of an impact right away this year.

Clearly, I’ve been wrong.  I’m OK with that.

The Blackhawks needed a strong start this season, if only to stop the conversation from turning to how last year’s poor start may have doomed them.  After taking 16 of 20 points from their home games in the early part of this season, they’ve dealt with that issue.

Leddy, for his part, has look solid throughout.  Sunday night, in fact, might have been his best game yet.

He was strong when forcing Oilers off the puck and made great use of his stick to force Oiler rushes wide and deep, thereby making them ineffective.  He seemed much more willing to let a shot go.  He’s not got the biggest shot from the blue line but it’s certainly more than serviceable.

Duncan Keith fired in a goal as well making it four points for Blackhawks defensemen on the night.

The worry, however, stays at the blue line.  Brent Seabrook appeared to lose an edge in the second period and that sent him hard into the end boards.  He did skate off the ice on his own power but was favoring his left leg.  Seabrook did not return to the ice and was termed by Joel Quenneville as “day-to-day.”

Should Seabrook miss an extended period of time, look to see Leddy step into even bigger minutes for the Hawks.  He’s shown he’s worthy of those minutes through the first 18 games and I’m definitely OK with that.

Emery, who made his fourth start this season, lost a shutout bid with 9:10 left in the third when Olli Jokinen scored. Keith and Seabrook, Chicago’s two top defensemen, both scored their first goals of the season in the Blackhawks’ 17th game.

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots and made several tough, close-in saves to keep the game close.

The Blackhawks (10-4-3) won their second straight, and the Flames (6-8-1) dropped their second in a row.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

The Blackhawks broke a three-game losing streak with their highest-scoring game of the season.

Andrew Brunette, Steve Montador, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa also had goals for Chicago, which lost 3-0 at St. Louis on Tuesday. Montador added an assist, and Nick Leddy and Brent Seabrook both had two assists. Corey Crawford made 27 saves.

The Blue Jackets fell to 2-12-1, by far the worst record in the NHL. They have lost three in a row and been outscored 19-6.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

David Booth, Aaron Rome, Daniel Sedin and Dan Hamhuis each added power-play goals and Jannik Hansen had Vancouver’s only even-strength score as the Canucks (7-7-1) handed the Blackhawks their first regulation home loss.

Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger scored for Chicago (8-3-3), which went 0-for-5 on the power play and has scored just once in its last 26 chances.

Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo made 38 saves to help the Canucks end a two-game slide.

Chicago’s Corey Crawford blocked 32 shots.

Booth’s goal was his first this season. He joined the Canucks from Florida in a multi-player trade on Oct. 22.

Rome, who has just three career goals in 132 games, connected in his first game this season after recovering from a broken hand.

The Canucks and Blackhawks met for the first time since Vancouver eliminated Chicago in overtime of Game 7 of an opening round playoff series last April. The teams have faced each other in the postseason for three straight years, with Chicago winning the first two series.

Crawford was sharp and made several quick, point-blank stops in the first period as Vancouver dominated and outshot Chicago 17-9. But Booth, who opened the scoring 6:00 in, was the only Canuck to connect in the frame.

After Crawford make a kick save on Booth’s one-time shot from 10 feet out, Booth was left open and popped in the rebound.

Frolik tied it at 1 with 7:03 left on a soft shot from the left wing boards that Luongo misplayed. The 45-foot attempt struck the inside of Luongo’s left pad and caromed in between his legs.

The Canucks took charge with four goals in the second.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

Stamkos had three goals during a wild second period that featured each team scoring four times.

Lecavalier scored the game-winner from the low slot off a pass from Martin St. Louis, who finished with three assists.

Tampa Bay also got a goal from Brett Connolly. The Lightning have won four consecutive home games.

Patrick Sharp scored twice for the Blackhawks, who had won three straight. Marian Hossa and Daniel Carcillo also scored.

Stamkos’ final goal, a left circle power-play shot with 32.2 seconds remaining in the second, tied it at 4. The center had pulled Tampa Bay within one at 11:45.

The franchise record for goals in a game is four, set by Chris Kontos in Tampa Bay’s first ever game, a 7-3 win over Chicago on Oct. 7, 1992.

After Tampa Bay went up 2-1 on Connolly’s goal at 4:55 of the second, the Blackhawks responded with three scores from Hossa (6:17), Carcillo (7:10) and Sharp (7:22) over a 1-minute, 5-second stretch.

Hossa scored from the low left circle, Carcillo stopped a personal 28-game goal drought during a breakaway and Sharp beat Dwayne Roloson from the slot.

Stamkos scored 15 seconds into the second on a rebound goal against Ray Emery before Sharp tied it with a power-play goal at 1:05.

The Blackhawks went 0 for 19 with the man advantage in their previous five games and failed to convert their first opportunity Friday.

Chicago right wing Patrick Kane had three assists. He has five assists and seven points over his last three games.

NOTES: Blackhawks D Duncan Keith missed his second straight game due to a left hand injury. He could return early next week. … Stamkos has seven goals and eight points in five games against Chicago. … Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito, who led Chicago to the 1971 and 73 Stanley Cup finals, was at the game. … Hossa has 24 goals and 57 points in 52 games against the Lightning.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

NOTES: Chicago D Duncan Keith, who left last Monday’s game with an upper-body injury, was scratched. … Daniel Carcillo was back in the Blackhawks’ lineup after serving a two-game suspension for an illegal check on the Hurricanes’ Joni Pitkanen. … Florida LW Sean Bergenheim was back on the ice after missing seven games with a lower-body injury. … Panthers LW Tomas Fleischmann extended his points streak to six games. … Florida D Erik Gudbranson was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. … Florida’s Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Kopecky all faced their former team for the first time.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Let’s deal with Kane first. With two goals plus an assist in Monday night’s 5-4 shootout win against the Predators, Kane continues to prove the genius of his own game and those who moved him over to center.

Kane’s overall pace–about 30 goals and 50 assists–isn’t exactly breakneck.  In fact, it’d be right about on par with his career average.  But consider this; Kane was held off the score sheet for three consecutive games earlier this season.  While it’s too small a small sample size to go ahead and project out, Kane and Hossa lead the team in assists and goals, respectively.

Now for Hossa.  It’s tough to say that he’s simply benefiting from Kane’s creativity and ability at center. After all, Hossa’s a guy who’s good for 40 goals if he plays all 812 games.  Still, it’s hard to ignore the quality and craftiness that Kane and Hossa play with on a regular basis.  There’s a jaw-dropping quality about chances between the two.  Really, they’re fun to watch.

Notes:

–Duncan Keith is day-to-day after blocking a shot with his hand.  Keith did not return to Monday night’s game but is expected to at least make the trip with the team.

–The Hawks power play continues to come up empty.  While the PP is 0-for-its-last-7, it’s tough to say it looks ugly.  Patrick Kane had some frighteningly good puck possession and, overall, the specialty unit generated a number of solid chances only to be turned aside by Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne.

–Monday night’s game could be the best performance by a goal while giving up five goals that I’ve ever seen.  Rinne was brilliant at times and stubborn throughout.  It’s not everyday you  get Kane saying things like this; “He might have been the best player on the ice tonight.  He made numerous saves.  You’re not going to face that good of a goaltender every night.  He played unbelievable.”

Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves through overtime, then stopped Viktor Stalberg, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the shootout to help Colorado (6-2) extend its record streak of road wins from the start of a season.

Avalanche rookie Gabriel Landeskog’s second goal of the game with 1:48 left in the third period tied it at 4 and forced overtime. He broke in on alone on goalie Corey Crawford after taking a pass from Ryan O’Reilly.

Paul Stastny and David Jones also scored in regulation for the Avalanche, who couldn’t hold a two-goal lead after two periods.

Toews, Michael Frolik, Jamal Mayers and Marian Hossa had goals in regulation for the Blackhawks, who dropped the second game of a home-and-home set after winning 3-1 in Denver on Thursday.

Crawford stopped 20 shots through overtime, and then turned aside Milan Hejduk and Matt Duchene in the shootout before Lindstrom faked him out of position for the game-winner.

The Avalanche, who entered with the NHL’s best power play (29.2 percent), didn’t have a man-advantage.

Stastny got credit for the only goal of the first period with 3:50 remaining. Kyle Quincey lobbed a shot through traffic from the left point, and the puck deflected in off Stastny.

Frolik tied it with an unassisted goal 46 seconds into the second period after he picked off Erik Johnson’s clearing attempt from behind the net and whipped it past Varlamov.

Jones’ fluke goal at 7:41 put Colorado ahead. His centering attempt from the side of the net struck Crawford’s stick, popped into the air, rolled over Crawford’s arm and into the net.

Landeskog stretched it to 3-1 with 6:35 left in the period when he bolted to the crease and slammed in O’Reilly’s feed from behind the net.

Toews knocked in a rebound with 55 seconds left in the second for a power-play goal that cut the Blackhawks’ deficit to 3-2.

Mayers was credited with a goal that tied it at 3 at 4:35 of the third. Varlamov stopped Mayers’ drive from the right circle, but the rebound caromed into the slot and bounced in off the left skate of Colorado defenseman Shane O’Brien.

Hossa deflected in a shot by Duncan Keith with 5:27 left in the third to put Chicago ahead 4-3.

The Blackhawks had several good chances on a power play early in overtime. Hejduk hit the post with a wraparound shot in the final seconds.

NOTES: The Blackhawks unveiled bronze statues of Hall of Famers Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita outside the United Center before the game. Both Hull and Mikita took part in the ceremony. Colorado C Peter Mueller (head) missed his fifth straight game. Chicago D Sami Lepisto, LW Rostizlav Olesz, and LW/D John Scott were healthy scratches. The crowd of 21,318 was the Blackhawks 150th straight sellout.

Seguin scored the only goal in a shootout and Boston beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Saturday night in the only regular-season matchup between the last two NHL champions.

Chris Kelly and Nathan Horton scored in regulation for Boston, which snapped a two-game skid to give coach Claude Julien his 300th NHL win. Nathan’s tying goal at 7:56 of the third sent the game to overtime.

Boston goalie Tim Thomas stopped 27 shots through overtime, then was perfect against Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp in the shootout.

“I just thought we got better as the game went on, and by the third period we looked a lot more like our team,” Julien said. “So that was good. I thought we did a great job of fighting through what we’ve been talking about the last couple of days.”

Defending champion Boston came on strong late and improved to 2-3. But the Bruins have scored just 10 goals in five games and are 0 for 20 on the power play since converting their first chance of the season.

“Just playing hard, grinding it out — that’s how we were able to come back,” Horton said. “We just need to get back to playing the way we can, just go out there and work hard. That’s how we get our game back.”

Thomas welcomed the effort as a remedy.

“We needed it bad,” he said. “There’s a big difference between 2-3 and 1-4.

“We’ve got to start building from somewhere, being down, battling back into the game,” he added. “We needed the win. We needed to feel good going forward, something to carry over on.”

Kane and Bryan Bickell scored in regulation for the Blackhawks, who got 35 saves from Corey Crawford.

Chicago came out flying, but ran out of gas late in the game and fell to 2-1-1.

“It was an amazing pace. That first period was the best period we’ve been involved in all year,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Both teams were dangerous. Both goalies had to be sharp in the first period, and had to be sharp all game.”

Chicago couldn’t preserve a 2-1 lead in the third. The Bruins dominated the final frame and had several prime chances — including a shot by Dennis Seidenberg that clanked off the post in the final minute.

Boston’s Rich Peverley then missed on a breakaway midway through overtime. He skated in alone on Crawford from the Boston blue line after a turnover by Kane, but fired a backhand shot high and wide.

“I think for whatever the reason, we didn’t really play the way we wanted to in the third,” Kane said. “It’s tough to give up a goal, especially when you’re up 2-1, but it kind of seemed like we were playing back a little bit and not really pushing the pace.”

Both teams had excellent scoring chances in a wide-open first period. Kane was flying, but was stopped by Thomas on two highlight-reel attempts.

Bickell finally broke through with the only goal of the first with 3:39 left in the period. He picked off a pass by Boston defenseman Andrew Ference at center ice, barreled down the slot and beat Thomas with a low shot.

Kelly scored a short-handed goal, completing a 2-on-1 with Peverley, 1:33 into the second to tie it at 1. Kelly took Peverley’s pass and whipped a high shot past Crawford from the slot.

Kane put Chicago ahead 2-1 just 1:18 later — and seconds after a Blackhawks power play expired — on a shot from the left circle that slipped between Thomas’ legs.

Boston dominated in the third, and Horton tied it 2-all at 7:56. He beat Crawford from the left circle after taking Johnny Boychuk’s pass from behind the net.

NOTES: Chicago RW Marian Hossa (upper body) missed the game and is day-to-day. … LW Viktor Stalberg returned to the lineup after missing the Blackhawks’ first three games with a knee injury. … Chicago RW Ben Smith (concussion) sat out his fourth game. … Boston D Adam McQuaid (neck pain) is day-to-day after crashing into the boards in a 3-2 loss at Carolina last Wednesday. His roster spot was filled by D Matt Bartkowski. … Bruins C David Krejci (core injury) missed his second game.

Lehtonen was at his best in the second period, making a series of sliding saves while Chicago built a 22-12 shots advantage, a total pumped up by three power plays.

Lehtonen came up with a key stop with about 5 minutes left on Jamal Mayers’ short-handed attempt from the left circle, and denied Patrick Sharp on a solo rush with 4 minutes remaining.

With goalie Corey Crawford on the bench in favor of a sixth attacker, Nick Leddy scored from the left circle with 13.6 seconds to play as Chicago avoided the shutout. Crawford made 31 saves.

The teams will meet again Saturday night in Chicago.

Goligoski opened the scoring at 59 seconds of the second period on a one-timer from the high slot off a feed from Mike Ribeiro.

Benn made it 2-0 with 3:58 left in the second while the teams skated 4 on 4, backhanding the rebound of Sheldon Souray’s slap shot past Crawford.

Benn contributed a crunching hit on Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson with 14:51 left in the game, checking Hjalmarsson into the corner with such force that the collision broke a pane of glass.

Crawford gave the Blackhawks an early lift when he denied Benn on a breakaway just over 2 minutes after the opening faceoff. Crawford kept the game scoreless when he stopped Benn again from close range in the final minute of the first period.

NOTES: The Stars went 6-1 in the preseason. Chicago was 2-4-1 in exhibition games. … F Adam Burish (groin), D Nicklas Grossman (hip) and D Adam Pardy (ribs) were out for Dallas. Chicago was without F Ben Smith (concussion), C Dave Boland (upper body) and LW Viktor Stalberg (lower body). … The Stars went 3-1 against the Blackhawks last season, but Dallas lost its final regular-season game at Minnesota, allowing Chicago to take the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth. … Canadian businessman Tom Gaglardi, the front-runner to become the new owner once the Stars emerge from bankruptcy, watched the game from a luxury suite. … Former Stars C Mike Modano received a standing ovation when he was shown on the big screen sitting in a luxury box during a break in the second period.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Under the extension, Bowman will be under contract through the end of the 2015-16 season.

Bowman, 38, is now entering his 11th season with the Blackhawks. He is the youngest manager in the NHL, and helped the team capture the 2010 Stanley Cup his first year as general manager in 2010.

“I am very proud of the direction that Stan has taken our hockey operations group in from the moment he took over the role,” Blackhawks president and chief executive officer John McDonough said in a news release. “Stan’s leadership and collaboration with the entire hockey operations group has developed a strong foundation and gives us the continuity we need as we strive for consistent excellence.”

Blackhawk served four seasons as special assistant to the general manager after joining the team in 2001. He became director of Hockey Operations in 2005, and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2007, general manager in 2009, and vice president and general manager in September 2010.

Set up by Jonathan Toews, Saad drove to the net and beat Washington’s Tomas Vokoun with a high shot from the left edge of the crease for the game-winner.

Viktor Stalberg scored two goals early in the third period for Chicago. Saad set up Stalberg’s first score.

Joel Ward and Matt Hendricks connected for Washington.

Formerly with Nashville, Ward scored for the first time since signing a four-year, $12 million free agent contract with the Capitals in the offseason.

Both starting goalies — Chicago’s Corey Crawford and Washington’s Vokoun — made first their appearances of the preseason and played the entire game. Crawford stopped 24 shots and Vokoun made 23 saves.

Vokoun, signed a one-year, $1.5 million free agent contract with Washington over the summer after four seasons with Florida. The 35-year-old is expected to compete for starting goalie duties with 23-year-old Michal Neuvirth.

Several of the Blackhawks’ top skaters, including defensemen Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson, and forwards Andrew Brunette and Dave Bolland played their first games of the preseason. Brunette made his first appearance as a Blackhawk after signing as a free agent over the summer.

Ward scored the only goal of the first with 6:18 left in the period when he parked in front of Crawford and deflected Alex Ovechkin’s shot from the point.

Stalberg put Chicago ahead 2-1 early in the third with goals on consecutive shifts. Stalberg scored from right side of the crease to tie it at 1 at 3:24 of the third to complete a 2-on-1 break with Saad.

Stalberg put Chicago ahead 2-1 at 6:56 when he circled behind the Washington net and banked the puck in off Vokoun’s stick.

Hendricks tied it at 2 with 7:38 left in the third. He burst past the Chicago defense and lofted a backhand past Crawford.

Notes: The Blackhawks assigned 11 players to Rockford of the AHL on Friday, including David Toews, younger brother of team captain Jonathan Toews. … Before the game, the Blackhawks observed a moment of silence for the victims of the Sept. 7 plane crash in Russia that killed members of the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv team. Among those killed in the accident were former Blackhawks Alexander Karpovtsev and Igor Korolev. … Chicago star forward Patrick Kane, who underwent surgery on his left wrist in July, has yet to play in a preseason game.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy also scored for the Penguins, who got all their goals in the third period after falling behind 1-0.

Staal started the run by putting in a rebound. Cooke, one of the game’s most notorious hitters, showed soft hands with a deflection of a backhand from Craig Adams to give the Penguins (2-0) the lead.

Michael Frolik scored in the second period for the Blackhawks (0-2).

Chicago starting goaltender Alexander Salak stopped all eight shots he faced before giving way to veteran Ray Emery, who allowed four goals on 19 shots.

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Blackhawks team physician Michael Terry said Sharp was experiencing some abnormal abdominal discomfort Monday. He said the surgery was successful.

The Blackhawks open training camp this weekend.

Sharp led the Blackhawks with 34 goals last season and signed a five-year contract extension last month. He had a career-high 71 points and added three goals and two assists in the playoffs when the Blackhawks lost in the first round to Vancouver, a year after winning the Stanley Cup.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)