Kane's SO goal lifts Blackhawks over Columbus, 2-1

[March 15, 2013]  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Patrick Kane set up Johnny Oduya's goal late in the second period and then got the decisive score in the shootout, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

Corey Crawford stopped 29 shots to help the Blackhawks end a two-game losing streak after they set an NHL record by getting at least a point in each of their first 24 games.

Jack Johnson scored the tying goal for Columbus 52 seconds after Oduya put Chicago ahead, and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 39 saves for the Blue Jackets, who set a franchise record by picking up a point in their ninth game in a row.

Columbus, 5-0-4 in its point streak, has reached overtime in eight of the last nine games.

Crawford and Bobrovsky traded sterling saves in a wild, end-to-end game.

A crowd of 15,009, including a large percentage of Chicago fans, gave both teams a lengthy standing ovation after they swapped scoring chances in a blizzard of offensive moves -- followed by outstanding work by the goalies.

Columbus' Artem Anisimov and Chicago's Jonathan Toews each scored to open the shootout. After Crawford stopped Ryan Johansen, Kane moved in slowly on Bobrovsky and then lifted a backhander into the net. Crawford then stopped Derick Brassard's attempt before he could even threaten.

With the score tied at 1 in the third, the Blackhawks turned up the heat and dominated play in the opening minutes of the period.

Bobrovsky made yet another big save when a ricochet ended up on the stick of Brandon Bollig just right of the cage. Bobrovsky gloved the shot from 12 feet away.

Crawford then fought off a rising wrister by Anisimov to keep the score tied.

The Blackhawks, 11-1-0 coming in when scoring first, took the lead at 16:45 of the second, thanks to a spectacular set-up pass from Kane. From near the end of the right blue line, he saucered a pass through two defenders all the way across the ice to the left circle to Oduya who was racing to the net. The defenseman settled the puck and then beat Bobrovsky high on the stick side.

The goal broke a 39-game drought for Oduya. It was also Kane's 400th career point (140 goals, 260 assists in 426 games).

Not long after Sheldon Brookbank headed for the penalty box for holding, the Blue Jackets evened it with a power-play goal.

Derick Brassard won a faceoff in the circle to Crawford's right, with the puck sliding to the high slot. Johnson stepped into it for a hard one-timer for his fourth of the year.

The Blue Jackets came in ranked 29th in the NHL with a man advantage.

Bobrovsky had a goal-saving stop just 2 minutes in when he smothered a point-blank one-timer from Andrew Shaw.

Crawford also made a glittering save in the scoreless first period when he gloved Fedor Tyutin's blast from the left point despite congestion in front of the net.

Columbus' previous mark of eight games in a row with points (4-0-2-2) came from Jan. 15 to Feb. 6, 2009.

NOTES: Just before the start, the Blue Jackets reassigned C Nick Drazenovic to their AHL affiliate in Springfield, Mass. ... Chicago won the teams' first three meetings, winning all three by a goal. ... During the first break early in the game, the Blue Jackets' move to the Eastern Conference (along with Detroit) was heralded on the center-ice monitors. ... The Blackhawks began a four-game road trip that will also take them to Dallas, Colorado and Anaheim.

[Associated Press; By RUSTY MILLER]

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