Blackhawks hold on to beat Hurricanes
CHICAGO -- Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin each scored, and the Chicago Blackhawks held on for a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Goaltender Scott Darling made 39 saves to earn his first win since Dec. 18 for the Blackhawks. Chicago (25-12-5) earned its second win in a row and improved to 15-4-4 on home ice.
Center Victor Rask scored the Hurricanes' lone goal. Carolina (17-15-7) lost the second game of a back-to-back set and dropped to 6-11-6 on the road.
Darling stymied Carolina with 19 saves in the first period, 11 saves in the second period and nine saves in the third period to improve to 11-4-2. He started for only the second time in the past seven games in place of No. 1 netminder Corey Crawford.
Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward turned aside 22 of 24 shots in the loss.
A series of sharp passes helped Chicago jump to a 1-0 lead with 7:47 remaining in the first period.
Left winger Vinnie Hinostroza snapped a pass across the slot to right winger Marian Hossa, who quickly redirected the puck to Toews to the left of the crease. Toews flicked a one-timer into the net for his seventh goal of the season and his third goal in the past seven games.
Chicago increased its lead to 2-0 on a power-play goal with 6:31 remaining in the second period.
Hurricanes right winger Viktor Stalberg broke his stick as he failed to clear the puck out of the zone. Moments later, Panarin scored on a pinpoint wrist shot from the left circle for his 16th goal of the season.
Carolina cut the deficit to 2-1 in the waning moments of the second period. Darling denied a shot by right winger Ty Rattie from the slot, but Rask spotted the loose puck near the crease and swept a shot beneath the goaltender's pads to snap a nine-game scoring drought.
NOTES: Chicago assigned D Gustav Forsling and LW Spencer Abbott to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs before Friday's game. Forsling, 20, has one goal and three assists in 32 games with the Blackhawks but has received limited playing time as a rookie. Abbott, 28, was held scoreless in one game. ... Hurricanes LW Teuvo Teravainen returned to the United Center for the first time since Chicago traded him in June. The 22-year-old won a Stanley Cup ring with the Blackhawks in 2014-15. ... Blackhawks D Brian Campbell returned to the lineup after sitting out as a healthy scratch on Thursday against Buffalo. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk played for the second night in a row after missing four games because of a lower-body injury. ... Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival was a healthy scratch. ... Hurricanes C Andrej Nestrasil and D Matt Tennyson were healthy scratches.