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 Left winger Brandon Saad's goal at 12:57 of the third period
broke a 1-1 tie and wound up being the game-winner, leading the
Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday at
the United Center.
"It was a big win for us," Chicago coach Joel Quennville said.
"Dangerous game, dangerous opponent, tough stretch. (We) played the
right way for most of the night and got rewarded in the end.
Certainly, across the board, commend the guys for leaving it out
there tonight."
The Blackhawks lost 3-2 to the Islanders in New York on Saturday,
but they bounced back Sunday upon the return to the United Center,
improving to 21-9-1, including 10-3-1 at home. Calgary dropped to
17-13-2.
Saad's goal, his seventh of the season, was classic Blackhawks
hockey. In a perfectly executed give-and-go on a two-on-one charge
to the net, center Jonathan Toews did the giving and Saad did the
going, breaking a 1-1 tie.
 "I think when you're used to winning and know how to win, you come
ready to play in the third," Saad said. "We want to have a good full
60 (minutes), but it's good to finish hard, too.
"We've been on the road a lot and we've had success, so definitely
we have to bring that home and play well in front of our fans and
keep the train rolling."
Toews, the team captain, and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson earned
the assists on Saad's goal.
Chicago goalie Antti Raanta stopped 23 shots for the win, improving
his season record to 4-2-0. Calgary counterpart Jonas Hiller (9-9-1)
stopped 26 of the Blackhawks' 28 shots.
In the previous meeting between the teams on Oct. 15, Hiller stopped
49 of Chicago's 50 shots as the Flames won 2-1.
Sunday marked Calgary's fifth loss in six games.
"Right now we're kind of in the stage where we're in every game but
we can't hold on and we can't grab it," Calgary coach Bob Hartley
said. "We have some young players, we made a few mistakes, and they
made us pay for it. It's too bad because I thought that we played a
pretty good game."
Calgary broke a goalless deadlock early in the second period.
Right winger Jiri Hudler scored his 12th goal of the season at 4:27
on a slap shot past Raanta. Left winger Johnny Gaudreau and
defenseman T.J. Brodie earned assists on the play.
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When Calgary defenseman Dennis Wideman was sent to the penalty box
at 8:34 for holding Toews, the Blackhawks wasted little time in
taking advantage.
Just nine seconds later, Blackhawks left winger Patrick Sharp scored
his fourth goal of the season on the power play, pushing a wrist
shot past Hiller, tying the game at 1-1. Toews and right winger
Patrick Kane picked up assists.
All four of Sharp's goals this season have been on the power play.
"(Chicago) came out and executed a bit better than us in the third
(period)," Calgary defenseman Kris Russell said. "I thought we did a
pretty good job, though. Other than that goal, I don't think we gave
them too many good opportunities."
NOTES: The Blackhawks made two player moves Sunday. They traded F
Jeremy Morin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for D Tim Erixon, who made
his Chicago debut Sunday and played 10:43, taking just one shot that
missed. D Klas Dahlbeck was also reassigned back to the team's AHL
affiliate in Rockford, Ill. ... Calgary coach Bob Hartley said D
Ladislav Smid will be out for a while with an upper-body injury. ...
Flames LW Brandon Bollig, acquired during the offseason from the
Blackhawks, was a healthy scratch. ... Chicago G Corey Crawford
likely will be out several more games with a lower-body injury. ...
Chicago's Duncan Keith is still the top vote-getter among defenseman
for the All-Star Game, while Brent Seabrook is third. Blackhawks RW
Patrick Kane and C Jonathan Toews are second and third in voting for
forwards. ... On hand for the game, in matching Blackhawks jerseys
with his son no less, was newly signed Chicago Cubs LHP Jon Lester.
... The attendance was 21,572.
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