Andrew Shaw

Sometimes, you need your goalie to steal a win for you, and that's what the Colorado Avalanche got out of Semyon Varlamov tonight at the United Center versus the Blackhawks.

Varlamov made 46 of 48 saves (.958 sv%) on a night where the Avs started a player short, and lost a defenseman early in the third. Colorado has a handful of players on IR, including PA Parenteau and Alex Tanguay, but despite that, they've been 5-1-1 in the new year. Their goalie has been a big part of that.

In that same stretch, the Blackhawks have gone just 2-1-4; so their silver lining is that they continue to eke out points in losses and remain in the top three of the Central division....

The Hawks looked to keep rolling as they travelled to Nashville to face off against the Predators and former Hawks Carter Hutton and Viktor Stalberg.  The last time the Hawks played in the Nashville rink this season, they were thoroughly beaten 7-2, but tonight walked away with a 3-1 win.  Bryan Bickell made his return after missing roughly a month with a lower body injury, while Antti Raanta made 27 saves and Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 20th goal in the victory.

The Hawks got on the board early with a wicked shot by Duncan K...

The Blackhawks were dominant in a 6-2 win against the Florida Panthers, scoring 3 of their 5 goals on the power play and staying perfect on the penalty kill.  The win was tainted by an injury to starting netminder Corey Crawford, who lasted only 13:45 in the first period before being replaced by Antti Rannta.  Raanta was solid, making 28 saves and allowing only two goals.

The Hawks came out jumping in the first, and needed only 70 seconds to take the lead.  After a bad penalty by former Hawk Tomas Kopecky for high-sticking Niklas Hjalmarsson, Patrick Sharp blasted a high shot from the point on the ensuing power play past goalie Scott Clemmensen, who was screened on th...

The Chicago Blackhawks pepperd Kari Lehtonen with 50 shots on goal, and rallied in the second period from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game, but it wasn't enough as the Stars took home a 4-3 victory in Chicago's first home game back from the Circus Trip. Lehtonen was outstanding, stopping 47 shots on goal in his 400th NHL game.

The first 10 minutes of the first period were fairly back and forth, with good chances by both the Hawks and the Stars.  Dallas took c...