In Chicago, the visiting Calgary Flames got a shorthanded, empty-net goal from Garnet Hathaway at 19:10 of the third period to give the Flames a 4-2 lead.
They needed that goal because Brandon Saad scored a power play goal at 19:31 to make it 4-3. But that was it as the Flames skated off with the win.
Johnny Gaudreau struck for the fifth straight; he had two goals Monday night and has 13 points in the streak.
Johnny Gaudreau scored twice in Flames’ win over Chicago – file photo courtesy of Lewis Bleiman
“I think our whole team played well,” Gaudreau said. “I’m getting on the score sheet, which is nice. But our team’s playing well; we’re getting better every single game.”
Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary.
David Rittich made 32 saves to get the win.
“Coming out of the Christmas break, we didn’t like where we were at,” Gaudreau said. “We kind of came back a little slow, and I think we’ve been getting better and better each game and finding ways to win games. It was a good effort.”
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the Hawks.
“I think they took it to us in the third period,” Kane said. “We were in a good spot there after two, being tied up, and we should feel confident in that position. So it was unfortunate to see them get an early goal, and I think we got away from our game plan a little bit after that.”
Chicago dropped to 16-22-7.
“We need points and we need to get them every night, and that’s what we’re battling for,” DeBrincat said. “Overall I thought we played alright, but [we] didn’t get any points so it doesn’t really help us.”
Calgary improved to 27-13-4.
“When we dig in and get all four lines going and three sets of D, we’re a dangerous team,” Calgary head coach Bill Peters said. “We have to make sure our work ethic gets above our skill, though; if we’re going to skill our way around the rink, we’re going to be in a little bit of trouble and it’s going to be iffy. When we go out and work, we’re going to be a good team.”
[WATCH: All Flames vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Collin Delia made 39 saves in the loss.
“We played really good for one period, and I think we played close to three periods like we did the second, then we win the game. We didn’t do that,” Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton said after the loss.
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