Blackhawks score short-handed goals to beat Blues

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Duncan Keith and Craig Adams scored short-handed goals as the Chicago Blackhawks kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

The Blackhawks moved within four points of eighth-place Nashville for the final playoff slot in the Western Conference. Chicago, which plays again Sunday night at home against Columbus with four games remaining, has 82 points.

Andrew Ladd and Jonathan Toews also scored for Chicago, which beat St. Louis for the second time in a week after nearly blowing a 4-0 third-period lead.

St. Louis, which got goals from Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes and Paul Kariya, are in a 3-13-3 slide in its last 19 games after making a frantic comeback in the third period.

The Blackhawks quickly grabbed momentum with two first-period goals by Ladd and Toews. Ladd scored from a bad angle 1:40 into the game, his 14th of the season, while Toews scored at 15:26 of the opening period on a wrist shot from the right circle.

A pair of fights were part of the first-period highlights. The Blues’ Cam Janssen and Craig Adams squared off 1:42 into the game before St. Louis’ David Backes and Chicago’s Adam Burish had a brief bout just a few minutes later. Blackhawks coach Denis Savard made comments in reference to the Blues taking extra hits at Toews and Patrick Kane after the teams met last week in Chicago, and fisticuffs were expected for the rematch Saturday. There was also a scrum with all the players on the ice with 5 seconds remaining in the game.

Keith gave Chicago a 3-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 15:12 of the second period, when Keith’s shot from the top of the left circle handcuffed Blues goalie Manny Legace. The play developed as the Blues’ Erik Johnson broke his stick on a slap shot from the point that resulted in a Chicago odd-man advantage.

Adams got his fourth of the season 2:06 into the third to make it 4-0 for Chicago after a 2-on-1 break where a Blues defenseman went crashing into the net, knocking the goal off its moorings right as the puck went in. After a review, the goal stood.

Tkachuk finally got the Blues on the board 6:11 into the final period, redirecting in a pass from Paul Kariya to spoil Nikolai Khabibulin’s bid for a third shutout this season. Boyes scored his 41st of the season and third in two nights with 4:58 to play on a feed from David Perron.

Kariya’s first goal in 23 games on the power play cut Chicago’s lead to 4-3 with 2:40 to play, but the Blues could not pull off the comeback bid.