Blackhawks 2, Flames 1
Brandon Saad scored the go-ahead goal with 7:03 left in the third period and Chicago held on to defeat visiting Calgary for its ninth victory in 10 games.
Patrick Sharp scored for the first time in 10 games and captain Jonathan Toews notched a pair of assists as the Blackhawks won their sixth in a row on home ice. Antti Raanta turned aside 23 shots for his third straight victory and fourth in six decisions this season.
Jiri Hudler snapped his six-game goalless drought for the Flames, who completed an 0-4-0 road trip with their fifth consecutive loss overall. Jonas Hiller made 26 saves - including seven on Kris Versteeg - and Calgary came up empty on three power-play opportunities.
Chicago tied the game nine seconds into a power play at 8:43 of the second session as Sharp scored from bottom of the left faceoff circle off a nifty diagonal pass from Toews. Johnny Gaudreau turned over the puck at Chicago’s blue line before Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson passed it down the right wing to Toews, who sent Saad in alone for the winning tally.
Raanta, making his first start since a victory over Montreal on Dec. 5, stopped all nine shots he faced in a scoreless first period and the Blackhawks successfully killed the only penalty of the session. The Flames opened the scoring 4:27 into the middle period, when Gaudreau carried the puck down the left wing and set up Hudler in the slot.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blackhawks traded RW Jeremy Morin to Columbus on Sunday for D Tim Erixon, who made his debut for Chicago and logged 10:43 of ice time while paired with Michal Rozsival. … Calgary registered 26 blocked shots - including five by Dennis Wideman and four by fellow D Kris Russell, who leads the league with 93. … Chicago was 1-for-25 on the power play over its previous eight games before converting in the second period.