Hurricanes 2 - 3 Blackhawks
Final
  for this game

Minus Kane, Blackhawks prevail over Hurricanes

Mar 22, 2014 - 4:10 AM Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Jonathan Toews scored a tie-breaking short- handed goal in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, at United Center.

Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg each had second-period goals for the Blackhawks, who played their first game without Patrick Kane. The star forward was placed on long-term injured reserve Friday with a lower-body ailment suffered in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over St. Louis. Kane is likely going to miss the remainder of the regular season.

Corey Crawford made 26 saves for Chicago, which closed to within four points of the Central Division-leading Blues.

"Had a really strong game. He did all the right things," Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said about Crawford.

Alexander Semin potted both Carolina goals, while Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots in defeat.

The Hurricanes have dropped three of their last four games and remain nine points back in the race for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.

"Every little mistake we make seems to catch us right now," said Carolina coach Kirk Muller. "It's unfortunate because it's not an easy place to win."

Semin's second goal came on two-man Carolina advantage early in the third. Following a draw in the left faceoff circle, Semin got the puck and snapped a wrister behind Crawford at 2:58.

The game wasn't tied for long, however.

With the Hurricanes now on a 5-on-4 power play, Toews beat Khudobin on a breakaway 31 seconds later.

The Blackhawks opened the scoring with a breakaway goal.

Sharp skated in alone on the Carolina netminder and used a deke to the backhand before roofing a shot at 3:09 of the second.

Versteeg made it 2-0 when he handled Nick Leddy's pass, moved into the slot and fired the puck past Khudobin with 3:34 remaining.

Eric Staal fed Semin in the slot and he beat Crawford on the glove side to put the Hurricanes on the board with 38 seconds left in the middle stanza.

Game Notes

Forward Teuvo Teravainen, the Blackhawks' first-round pick (18th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, joined the club but didn't play Friday night. Teravainen, 19, was added to the roster after completing his season with Jokerit in Finland ... The Hurricanes had gone 9-1-2 with a tie in the previous 13 meetings against Chicago.






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