Blackhawks hold off Oilers for win

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The Big Tease is n full affect mode in Chicago. On Thursday night, the Blackhawks defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, to move within four points of a crowded log jam for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Alex DeBrincat struck twice for the Hawks who had a 3-0 lead and then had to hold off the Oilers late.

Corey Crawford made 21 saves in the win.

“Big win for the team,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “First two periods were excellent, for the most part, and they had a push there in the third. [I] thought we fed their push a little bit, obviously a couple turnovers and they ended up in the back of our net, which they gained some life from.

“But I was proud of how we finished the game off. We gritted it out. Big two points and found a way to close the game in regulation, and [it was] good to see that.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Josh Archibald and Kailer Yamamoto were the Oilers’ strikers.

“We didn’t play well enough in the first two periods and pressed a little bit in the third,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. “We dug too big of a hole in the first two periods.”

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (30th) added single markers for the Blackhawks.

“It’s a good number,” Kane said. “Obviously throughout the season you start thinking about those numbers, whether it’s 20 or 30, and obviously want to get even more than that.”

[WATCH: All Oilers vs. Blackhawks highlights]

Mike Smith got the start and surrendered all four goals to the Hawks; he made 17 saves before getting the hook midway through the second period.

“We’re not going to win too many games like that. The first couple of periods, if not for Smitty, we’re probably down half a dozen,” Zack Kassian said. “We just have to regroup. There are going to be highs and lows and we have to stay even keel. If we play the way we did in the third we’re giving ourselves a chance to win every night.

“If we play the way we did in the first and second we’re not going to win many games.”

Mikko Koskinen made 10 saves in a mop up role for the Oilers.