Blackhawks 4, Avalanche 0
Corey Crawford recorded his second consecutive shutout and Dave Bolland and Fernando Pisani collected a goal and an assist apiece as the Chicago Blackhawks skated to a 4-0 triumph over the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
Troy Brouwer and Jack Skille also tallied and defenseman Brent Seabrook notched two assists as Chicago (24-18-3) secured its third straight victory.
After blanking the New York Islanders on Sunday, Crawford stopped all 24 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season and third career. The 26-year-old Montreal native turned aside nine shots in both the first and second periods and six in the third in this one.
Crawford has recorded seven wins in his last nine outings to improve to 15-8-1 this season.
Brouwer and Bolland scored 40 seconds apart just over seven minutes into the first period to lift the defending Stanley Cup champions to an early 2-0 lead.
Pisani then netted his seventh goal of the season midway through the contest, and Skille capped the scoring with his seventh tally at 8:36 of the third period.
Colorado (22-16-6) had won all three previous meetings this season. The Avalanche were attempting to successfully sweep the Blackhawks for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign.
Peter Budaj finished with 27 saves to fall to 11-7-3 this season. The regulation loss was Budaj's first in four outings (2-1-1).