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Williams guides Blackhawks past Wild

Mar 5, 2008 - 5:15 AM ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- For the second time in two weeks, the Chicago Blackhawks were able to shut down the Minnesota Wild.

Jason Williams had a goal and an assist, defensemen Duncan Keith and Dustin Byfuglien also tallied and Craig Adams added an empty-netter as the Blackhawks erased an early deficit and skated to a 4-2 victory over the Wild on Tuesday.

Making his sixth straight start, Patrick Lalime filled in for Nikolai Khabibulin and finished with 28 saves. Ironically, it was Khabibulin who turned aside 38 shots to record his first shutout in nearly a calendar year in Chicago's 3-0 victory over Minnesota on February 20.

"It's been a few years since I've have a few starts in a row like this," Lalime said. "It's been fun to get some action."

Pavol Demitra and Stephane Veilleux scored for Minnesota, which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

"We had a lot of chances in the first," Demitra said. "(Lalime) stood up for those guys. He played a great game."

After Demitra opened the scoring 5:56 into the first period, Williams leveled the contest just 45 seconds later, when his centering feed deflected off Eric Belanger's skate and past surprised goaltender Niklas Backstrom.

Keith gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead just 7:40 into the second period. The All-Star blue-liner batted the puck out of the air and past Backstrom for his ninth goal of the season.

Referee Dean Warren initially waved off the goal, but replays showed that Keith waited until the puck was below the crossbar before hitting it into the net.

"I had a little bit of time (and) I skated right into it - the puck was right there," Keith said. "There's little bit of instinct to just smack it in, but I had a little bit of time to wait."

A native of Minnesota, Byfuglien gave Chicago a two-goal cushion just 2:32 into the third period with a power-play goal.

"It's always special coming back home," Byfuglien said. "The whole team came out ready to play, and I happened to sneak one in there."

Veilleux halved the deficit 4:15 later, gathering a rebound and beating Lalime for his eighth tally of the season. But Adams sealed the win with an empty-netter with 16 seconds remaining in the third period.

The Wild also missed an opportunity with five minutes remaining in the second period, when Demitra and All-Star Marian Gaborik skated in 2-on-none. Lalime, however, was able to get his left pad on Gaborik's shot.

"I wanted to wait until the last second, and I had a good read on it," Lalime said. "(Demitra) made a pass and I was waiting for it."

"He definitely cheated. He knew I was going to pass," Demitra said. "I gave him a little fake, but he was cheating. If I put it on the net, probably half the net was open."