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Blackhawks host Blues, shoot for third straight win

Nov 30, 2010 - 7:54 PM (Sports Network) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to win three straight games for the first time in over a month when they host the St. Louis Blues in tonight's Central Division battle at United Center.

The Blackhawks won games on back-to-back days in Anaheim and Los Angeles over the weekend to wrap up a five-game road trip with a 4-2-0 record. Chicago hasn't won three in a row since a four-game winning streak from Oct. 15-20.

Chicago posted a 4-1 win in Anaheim on Friday and then notched a 2-1 victory over the Kings the following night. All told, the Blackhawks are 5-2-1 over their last eight games.

Patrick Kane scored the decisive goal in the third period and Corey Crawford made 21 saves to lead Chicago to Saturday's victory in LA.

Patrick Sharp also scored for the Blackhawks, giving him a goal in each of the last four games. Sharp is leading Chicago with 15 goals and 27 points this season.

For his part, Crawford withstood a lot of late pressure and shots to win his fourth consecutive start. He stopped 9-of-10 shots in the third period, allowing a power-play goal to Anze Kopitar .

"You just have to stick with it and keep playing hard," Crawford said. "I thought our guys did really well in blocking shots and keeping it to the outside and that made it way easier for me."

Tonight marks the start of a four-game homestand for the Blackhawks, who have lost five out of seven in the Windy City and are just 5-7-0 as the host this year.

Chicago winger Marian Hossa will miss tonight's game with a lower-body injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for the next two-to-three weeks. Hossa, who suffered the injury at practice on Monday, has 18 points in 21 games for the Blackhawks this season.

Meanwhile, the Blues will try to bounce back after getting swept in a tough home-and-home series with Dallas over the weekend. St. Louis suffered a pair of one-goal regulation losses after heading into the series on a three-game winning streak.

Dallas recorded a 3-2 home win on Friday and then posted a 2-1 decision the following night in St. Louis. Loui Eriksson scored the go-ahead goal on a power play early in the third period of Saturday's game and the Stars held on for the win. To make matters worse, the Blues entered the third period of both games with a one-goal lead.

On Saturday, Jamie Benn scored the first Dallas goal 65 seconds into the third and Eriksson netted a wrister from the right circle less than four minutes later to give the Stars a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.

"Same thing happened last night. We had a lead going into the third and we blew it," said St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

B.J. Crombeen tallied the only St. Louis goal late in the second period and the Blues lost for the seventh time in 10 games. Halak, who also started on Friday, allowed two goals on 23 shots in Saturday's loss.

St. Louis has lost five of its last six on the road and is just 4-6-2 away from the Gateway City this season.

The Blackhawks and Blues have split a pair of games this season with each team winning a game on home ice. Chicago has taken six of nine overall in the series and the Blues have lost two in a row and four out of five in the Windy City.