Blackhawks topple Pens in shootout

Associated Press

CHICAGO

The Chicago Blackhawks’ top forwards came through in regulation, and then again in the shootout.

Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell scored in regulation and Patrick Kane had the only goal in the tiebreaker to lift Chicago to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

“We’re skating well, that’s the difference out there,” Sharp said. “We’re moving our feet and coming up with a lot of pucks.”

The Blackhawks played their third straight game without coach Joel Quenneville, who is recovering from gastrointestinal bleeding caused by an ulcer. Assistant coach Mike Haviland was in charge in Quenneville’s absence.

Kane, Sharp and Jonathan Toews, who skated together again on Sunday as the Blackhawks No. 1 line, had Chicago’s best chances througout the contest.

“There’s a lot of skill on that line,” Kane said. “We all try and make plays and set up different chances. All of us feel we can be better every game.”

Kane connected in the third round of the shootout after Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Toews and Sharp. Chicago’s Corey Crawford blocked shots by Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy after Pascal Dupuis hit the post on the Penguins’ first attempt.

Crawford had 24 saves for Chicago.

Matt Cooke had a short-handed score for Pittsburgh, and Brett Sterling fired in a rebound from the edge of the crease with 3:18 left in the third period to tie it at 2-all. Fleury finished with 29 saves, including a point-blank glove save on a shot by Chicago’s Michael Frolik.

“We’ve got to be confident we can find a way to pull it out,” Toews said. “Tonight we did. You’re going to find mistakes throughout a game, but you have to find a way to win.

The Penguins played without nine injured players, including star forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby hasn’t played since Jan. 5 due to a concussion and Malkin is recovering from knee surgery.

“Our team stayed with it and kept going,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “We knew we were going to have to battle one out. We kept playing and we got the [late] goal and we’ll take the point.”