nhl roundup \ Sunday’s other games

April 6, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Blackhawks 1, Blue Jackets 0, OT

COLUMBUS — The Blackhawks moved a step closer to securing home ice in the first round of the playoffs, while the Blue Jackets are still fighting and inching toward their first postseason berth. Nikolai Khabibulin made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season and the 40th of his career, and rookie Kris Versteeg scored his 22nd of the season with 1:50 remaining in overtime. Versteeg skated alone from beyond center ice to beat Steve Mason, the fellow rookie star who finished with 24 saves for Columbus, with a low shot that bounced off the goalie’s stick and into the net. “You can’t really see much going in on that goalie,” Versteeg said. “I was going five-hole and I guess I got lucky and it bounced in. Coming down against a guy like Mason I guess all you can do is shoot and pray to God it goes into the net.” Moments earlier, Khabibulin stymied Kris Russell, who also had a lengthy breakaway. Before Russell’s breakaway, he kicked Versteeg’s overtime shot off the Columbus goal line. The Blackhawks have won three straight and six of eight, and snapped a season-high five-game road losing streak. “What a hockey game,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “Both teams played hard, the pace was incredible. I don’t know how many times we had five or six minutes of play without faceoffs or stoppages.” A day after clinching a playoff spot for the first time in seven years, the Blackhawks ran their winning streak to three and snapped a season-high five-game road losing streak. Chicago also moved three points ahead of Vancouver for the fourth seed and home ice in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Columbus has lost five of seven, but only one of those losses was in regulation. They are 8-2-4 in their last 14 and gained a valuable point in defeat. The Blue Jackets have 90 points, with Anaheim (88 points), Nashville (86) and St. Louis (86) closing ground as the four teams fight for the final three spots. Each team has three games remaining, with Anaheim playing San Jose later Sunday. “This is what it takes for non-established teams to establish a territory in the league,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “This is what it takes to get in [to the playoffs]. There is a hell of a price to pay to get in.” Columbus, which entered the league in 2000, is the only active team that has not qualified for the playoffs. Near the midway mark, the Blackhawks hemmed Columbus in its own zone for nearly 2 minutes, with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews narrowly missing on close-range shots. The Blue Jackets finally cleared on a quick rush and created a scoring chance but Khabibulin stopped Jiri Novotny’s redirection.

Capitals 6, Thrashers 4

WASHINGTON — Tomas Fleischmann had a goal and an assist for his first multipoint game in nearly two months, and Washington moved into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference. Alexander Semin, Keith Aucoin, Michael Nylander, Eric Fehr and Brooks Laich also scored for the Capitals, two points ahead of New Jersey. Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 42nd goal for Atlanta, and Colby Armstrong, Jim Slater and Slava Kozlov also scored.

Red Wings 3, Wild 2

DETROIT — Marian Hossa scored with 55 seconds left, and Chris Osgood made 20 saves to help Detroit snap a three-game losing streak. Pavel Datsyuk added a goal and an assist, and Jiri Hudler also scored. Cal Clutterbuck had a goal and an assist, and Marian Gaborik added a goal for Minnesota.

Associated Press